Atividade agroindustrial leiteira sob as condições hidrológicas do semiárido do Rio Grande do Norte: o caso de São José do Seridó.

Abstract

The dairy production chain is considered one of the most important activities in the agribusiness segment, both from an economic and social point of view, as it is a source of income and job creation. The economic development of the region takes place like almost all other interior regions of the country, through agriculture and livestock, which is the cultivation of land and the raising of cattle on farms. However, in a region with a semi-arid climate and low rainfall, caused by irregular rainfall and high evaporation rates, there is a need to promote survival strategies for the development of life in the countryside. In this sense, the present work sought to analyze the influence of hydrological conditions on the dairy agro-industrial activity developed in the municipality of São José do Seridó - RN. Therefore, the research was based on theoretical and technical procedures that collaborate in the understanding of agricultural production in the semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte. The work was carried out in two stages: in the first stage, there were field visits with those responsible for the milk producing units in order to know the reality of the producers and in the second stage, the data collected in the field was processed in the form of an aggregated database. . For data collection, a form consisting of 5 closed and two open questions was used, related to the research objective, which were answered by 15 producers from the aforementioned municipality. The results show that in the analysis of the influence of hydrological conditions on the dairy agro-industrial activity developed in the municipality of São José do Seridó - RN that there is a historical process due to the drought, which makes this activity a real challenge. However, the characteristics of these producers overcome these challenges since it is possible to highlight that there was no significant difference between the dry and rainy periods. The lack of information and knowledge about dairy farming means that the producer is far below the rates that he can achieve with the structure and the herd he has and that, if there is good technical advice, this reality can be changed without large economic investments. and through partnerships with technical assistance organizations.