This publication presents two studies based on indicators derived from agricultural surveys, with a focus on the main crops of Brazilian grains - rice, beans, corn, soybeans and wheat.
The first study deals with the construction of a model to quantify losses of grain between sowing and the pre-harvesting period, considering the primary results of the Municipal Agricultural Survey, conducted by the IBGE, for crops harvested from 1996 to 2002. The investigation is intended to improve the instruments employed to analyze losses in agriculture and to provide information about the agroecological zoning in Brazil, regarding those crops.
The second study has the objective of systematizing series of agricultural statistical information not currently consolidated but which are relevant to the understanding of this economic sector. To reach this objective, the study presents availability tables with data on the origin and destination of grains in the period 1997-2003. The primary data used come from the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production and from the Survey of Stocks, both conducted by the IBGE, and from the Foreign Trade Secretariat, of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, with losses calculated according to a methodology adopted by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO.
The studies presented herein evidence the consolidation of a methodology that has been developed since year 2000, with indicators published in the Texts for Discussion series, and bring enormous contributions to the understanding of the dynamics, organization and production of agriculture in the country.
The same content is also available on the CD-ROM that comes enclosed with the publication.