Tecnologia, inovação e desenvolvimento regional : a Blockchain na perspectiva da cadeia produtiva brasileira do café.

Abstract

Considering innovation as one of the instruments for maintaining the capitalist mode of production, the author of this thesis, through the premises of Regional Development, sought to analyze the dynamics of innovation in the rural environment, specifically blockchain technology in the coffee production chain in Brazil. The choice of the coffee chain was made for three main reasons: first, coffee is a commodity with great commercial scope in the world; second, because the country is recognized as a large producer, processor and consumer of the product; and, finally, because it involves a plurality of actors participating in the same environment of the coffee production chain, such as family producers, small and large producers, distributors, government agencies, international markets, consumers of the beverage, etc., in a way that satisfies the research in relation to the analysis in the different possible environments. Within this perspective, the thesis observed the influence of blockchain from the producer to the end consumer, so that its general objective was to understand whether blockchain technology, as a sociotechnical system, offered conditions of socioeconomic and environmental sustainability to the peers involved, considering the coffee production chain in Brazil. The thesis observed not only farmers' interest in using blockchain, but also the knowledge on the subject of the actors involved in the coffee production chain. To this end, rural producers, cooperatives, and companies developing blockchain technology were considered in order to provide possible responses. Thus, the thesis had as specific objectives to understand the dynamics of the coffee production chain and how technology participates in this process; to understand the market that uses blockchain as a tool to generate trust in commercial relations; to identify the factors that impede or encourage farmers' interest in using technologies and the choice of blockchain, when identified, in the coffee production and marketing processes; and to analyze the applicability of blockchain by different entities participating in the coffee production chain, such as private companies, governments, and non-governmental organizations. The choice of case studies was mainly due to projects involving blockchain, therefore, the companies included in the research are: Café Minamihara, located in Alto da Mogiana in the interior of São Paulo and Cooperativa MinaSul, located in the city of Varginha in the interior of Minas Gerais. To this end, the thesis, using exploratory research with a qualitative approach, was supported bibliographically by the theories of innovation from Schumpeter (1942) to Chesbrough (2003) and of economics with Smith (2021) to Mill (2019) with a focus on the theories of development by Sen (2001). In addition, the thesis was supported by the relationships involving agriculture and technology from Brunori (2020) to Gazolla (2020) and the relationship between communication and development from Felippi (2008) to Escosteguy (2006). The thesis used these as a basis, contributing to the empirical observation based on data collection through semi-structured interviews during field visits, since it strategically opted for case studies that were documented by the author through photographs witnessing the cycle of field visits. Thus, it concluded that blockchain is used in the coffee production chain depending on the objective of those who use it; or it meets the objective of traceability and transparency proposed by the technology for agriculture or with the financial market, deviating from the central objective proposed by the technology for agriculture.