Modernization and rural development in gaúchos’ cities

Abstract

The agricultural policies developed since 1960 aimed at increasing productivity coupled with the modernization of the countryside. The aim of this study is to map the degree of agricultural modernization in the Rio Grande do Sul’ cities in the year 2006 and verify your influence in agricultural income, the concentration of income and rural development of the State. The factor analysis was used to identify the common factors associated with the degree of modernization of the agricultural sector in each gaúcho’ cities and calculate the index of Agricultural Modernization (IMA). Estimated three econometric models of type cross section to identify the effects of modernization for each proposed indicator, namely: income, Gini Index and Index of Rural Development (IDR). As a result, it was observed that the highest levels of agricultural modernization focus at the meso-regions Northeast, Central-West and Southwest of the State. The increase in modernization has a positive impact on income, at the same time that generates greater concentration of it. The increase of modernization also promotes rural development, however, after a certain level your influence is negative.