Expansão sucroalcooleira no estado de Goiás: uma análise exploratória a partir de dados sócio-econômicos e cartográficos

Abstract

In the current scenario of energy crisis and global change, the biofuels, mostly those derived from sugarcane, are becoming a higher priority each day. Within this context, in this study, based on cartographic and socioeconomic data, we perform an exploratory analysis regarding the sugarcane occupation in the State of Goias, which, due to its physiographic characteristics as well as its prominent economic growth, existent and planned infrastructure, and agricultural potential, is a major alternative to the expansion of the ethanol production in the country. Between 2005 and 2007, the area with sugarcane, distributed over 77 municipalities, increased from 217.898,14 to 347.912,20 hectares. As our results suggest, the location of the sugarcane plantations is highly dependent on the available infrastructure, flat topography and soil fertility. Likewise, the expansion of the sugarcane over other crops is also evident. Interestingly, this expansion, which is also occurring over protected and priority areas for biodiversity conservation, has not produced significant impacts on the local economy. The expectation is that these results may help in the modeling of future scenarios, which are instrumental for the implementation of more adequate territorial policies.