Pontenciais efeitos de mudança tecnológica e de preços de produtos sobre a alocação de recursos e benefícios das famílias camponesas estudo de caso: Matutuíne

Abstract

The agricultural production of Mozambican peasant families is characterized by low productivity, constituting one of the main causes of poverty in rural areas. This low productivity is a consequence of the low level of use of fertilizers and improved seeds. The search for alternative solutions that encourage the search for these improved inputs and the consequent increase in agricultural productivity is one of the greatest challenges for agro-economists and agricultural policy analysts in this country. The present study uses the linear programming technique to analyze the potential effects of changes in technology and prices, on the allocation of resources and on the benefits of peasant families in the district of Matutuíne, in the province of Maputo. To obtain the key characteristics of the families' production systems and the technical coefficients for the linear programming model, the study used descriptive statistics and partial budgets. The results of the study indicated that prices have very positive effects for households that are net sellers, that is, those households that sell more than they buy in the market. For liquid purchasing families, this effect is no longer as positive as in the first case. Regarding resource allocation, as prices increase, more area is allocated to the enterprise that contains the crop whose price has changed. With regard to the change in technology, its final effect is positive, however, its search and use only becomes effective in the presence of a credit line. Thus, access to credit is a crucial aspect in changing technologies, as it is not enough for new technologies to be available, there is a need to create incentives in order to stimulate demand