THE IMPORTANCE OF FIREWOOD FOR THE TABACCO FARMERS IN THE RIO PARDOS WATHERSHED, SOUTH OF BRAZIL
03 - Bioenergy: Economy, Market and Policy
1 RAFAEL DA SILVA RECH, 1 CARLINE ANDREA WELTER, 1 JORGE ANTONIO DE FARIAS, 2 LUANA DESSBESELL
1 UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA MARIA
2 LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY
The region of the Vale do Rio Pardo has its agriculture rooted in the tobacco farming, mostly on small properties. The tobacco production is present in the region for over 60 years and it was a great responsible for the regional development. The constant concern regarding environmental issues has led the tobacco industry to invest in programs of reforestation, preservation of water resources, soil conservation, reduction of pesticides use, environmental education, among others. In this context, the study aims to identify the volume of firewood consumed, the price paid for the firewood and the main species used in the tobacco cure process in the Rio Pardo Watershed. Therefore, it was interviewed 180 tobacco farmers in 12 municipalities located in Rio Pardo Watershed, the sampling intensity varied according to the number of producers per municipality. The 180 sampled units were sufficient considering a 95% level of confidence. The major contribution of this study and the proposed objectives was that around 53,6% of the farmers purchase firewood, and Eucalyptus spp. are the main species used as raw material for energy production by the tobacco producers. Natural forest corresponds to 6.51% of the firewood used in tobacco curing. The firewood has a significant importance in the cultivation of tobacco, being the high price of this input one of the primary concerns among the farmers. The average cost of the firewood was R$ 49,83/stere generating a total consumption of firewood purchased of 76002.06 stere meters, thus a cost of approximately R$ 3,780,000.00 for all the studied area.
Keywords: firewood traceability, production costs, energy self-sufficiency
Acknowledgments: This work acknowledges the Brazilian Association of Tobacco Growers (AFUBRA), Santa Cruz do Sul.
