Hotspots de inovacão - desafios e oportunidades para a sustentabilidade da cadeia de suprimentos da carcinicultura

Abstract

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production activities in the world in recent decades. However, the continuity of this growth intrinsically depends on innovation processes, increasing production efficiency throughout the entire aquaculture production chain. Therefore, it is important to identify sensitive topics that can contribute to the development of innovation processes that lead to sustainability in all links of the production chain. Developing a logical chain of evolution, questions needed to be asked: Where to develop an innovation? What would this innovation be? To answer these questions, this research was divided into two complementary parts. In the first part, the objective was to understand and identify the links in the shrimp farming production chain in the state of Ceará. 80 technical projects submitted in the environmental licensing process between 2012 and 2020 were analyzed, 2 of which concerned shrimp larviculture, 74 from shrimp farming farms and 4 involving the fish processing process. This time, a conceptual flow of the chain was developed, identifying four macro segments of the production chain: 1) Raw Materials and Supplies; 2) Aquaculture Production; 3) Production Processing and 4) Distribution and Marketing, identifying the following innovation hotspots: In the raw materials and inputs sector – Feed Manufacturing. - In the aquaculture production sector – Monitoring and Control. - In the aquaculture products processing sector – New products and uses. - In the distribution sector and consumer market – Animal welfare and Traceability. The second part of the research aimed to verify the possibility of developing a low-cost innovation prototype that could improve the efficiency of aquaculture production. Therefore, a pilot project called the Aquaculture Remote Monitoring System – ARMS was developed, based on open and free software technologies. The prototype was successfully tested by analyzing 2 basic criteria: data communication and the functionality of the data collection sensors. From the perspective of having been a pilot study, to assess the viability of an innovative process with the hotspot strategy, sensitive points were identified that require the insertion of technologies, with the aim of contributing to the development of aquaculture. According to the financial resources and inputs available, a prototype was developed, called SMRA, which met all expectations of the objectives set. The evolution of this topic depends on investments spread (public and private) throughout the entire production chain and the use of multidisciplinary expertise and knowledge, as long as they converge with clear and specific goals. There is no chronological order for these points to be carried out, but what is important and fundamental is that they are connected in a common objective with the conception of innovative solutions that are systemic. Thus, the great contribution of this work is in providing a vision of challenges and opportunities, in the use of disruptive technologies in the aquaculture production chain, indicating the need to combine detailed knowledge of reality and providing opportunities for research and development that achieve the sustainability of the activity.