Impact of agribusiness on sustainable development in Paraná state

Abstract

Agribusiness is one of the sectors of greatest relevance to the Brazilian economy, and the state of Paraná stands out in this segment due to its high production and export of products coming from the countryside. But the productive practices, at the national level, are guided by the technological package implemented in the 1960s, which have negative impacts on the environment. In view of this, the objective of this study is to verify the impact of agribusiness in the Sustainable Development Index (IDS) for the state of Paraná, by applying the dashboard of sustainability. This tool makes it possible to analyze four dimensions: nature, economic, social and institutional. On a scale of 0 to 1000, the general IDS of Paraná obtained a “reasonable” performance with 612 points, and the dimension that contributed the most to this result was social with 785 points, followed by the relacionaeconomic with 582 points, nature with 547 points, and finally the institutional dimension with 537 points. Although the dimensions presented an above-average performance, it was evidenced that the variables that contributed most to the negative impact of the IDS were: areas of conservation, land use, use of pesticides and fertilizers, which negatively impact the quality of life in the areas social and environmental. In this way, the research results showed that agribusiness negatively influences sustainable development.