Política agrícola, eficiência e concentração na agricultura brasileira

This study is a contribution to the debate about efficiency, farm size, and economic policy in the agricultural sector in Brazil. A theoretical discussion on the existence of economies or diseconomies of scale is initially presented. Special emphasis is given to the differences between the industrial and agricultural sectors and to the specificities of family-farm production. A review of the main studies about efficiency and economies of scale in the agriculture sector worldwide is presented. One hypothese discussed is that there are strong barriers to the penetration of big enterprises in rural farms and that middle-size farms are able to compete either in terms ofs costs or in terms of technological innovation in the major segments qof agricultural production. An empirical study of the sugar cane producers in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is carried out using variance and discriminant analysis to evaluate efficiency indices - cost per unit of production and agricultural productivity. The results suggest that middle-size farms are as efficient as large-sized farms. Brazilian agricultural policies may explain why there is a high degree of concentration in sugar cane production.