O uso do system dynamics em um modelo de apoio a comercialização: uma aplicação à agricultura familiar.
Resumen
The family farmers play an important role in the Brazilian agricultural
production. However, even though they occupy a prominent position in the agricultural
production in Brazil, there are not management techniques specifically suitable to
family farmers. Focusing on commercialization and vertical coordination, this
dissertation has as main objective the development of management prescriptions related
to procurement and marketing activities undertaken by family farmers. Computational
simulation, based on System Dynamics methodology, was the main instrument to
support procurement and marketing decisions. Interviews with thirty three vegetables
family farmers and five of their main suppliers, all located in the region of São Carlos
SP, provided the real data for the design of the computational model. The empirical
research revealed that family farmers do not plan procurement and marketing
appropriately, although they manage to compete with non-family production. The use of
governance structures based on trust seems to be the main cause of their survival and
success. The simulation based on System Dynamics helped the design of models that
represent and help the decision making related the procurement and marketing by
family farmers.