Pathways to Rural Sustainability: Opportunities and Challenges in the Creation of an Agrotechnological District in Ingaí City, Brazil

Caroline Mendonça Nogueira Paiva (), Derick Quintino, Thacyo Bruno Custódio de Morais, Elisa Guimarães Cozadi, Jaqueline Severino da Costa, Paulo Henrique Montagnana Vicente Leme and José Roberto Soares Scolforo
Additional contact information
Caroline Mendonça Nogueira Paiva: Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Thacyo Bruno Custódio de Morais: Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Elisa Guimarães Cozadi: Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Jaqueline Severino da Costa: Department of Agribusiness Management, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Paulo Henrique Montagnana Vicente Leme: Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
José Roberto Soares Scolforo: Department of Forest Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37200-000, MG, Brazil

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: An agrotechnological district (ATD) integrates sustainable agricultural practices and technologies, aiming to transform rural communities by stimulating socioeconomic development and addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Ingaí, a dairy-producing municipality in Minas Gerais, Brazil, stands to benefit from the implementation of an ATD. This study aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges for the implementation of an ATD in the municipality, considering its socioeconomic characteristics, the level of producers’ technological adoption, connectivity infrastructure, support networks, and rural and market management. The method was based on an exploratory case study, using semi-structured group interviews for data collection, conducted in March 2024, with agricultural stakeholders. As a result, key challenges emerged: limited connectivity infrastructure; ineffective property management; rural family succession problems; barriers in accessing credit; resistance to the adoption of technologies; and dependence on the local government. Opportunities included the strengthening of support networks among the agents of rural productive activity; the promotion of technology adoption by producers; and creating training and rural extension programs. The adoption of these initiatives can stimulate Ingaí’s economic and social development, generate multiplier effects in its region of influence, and serve as a model for other initiatives in the state of Minas Gerais, the main dairy hub in the country, and one of the primary drivers of Brazilian agribusiness.

Keywords: sustainable communities; rural development; digital agriculture; technification; local infrastructure; support networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/12/2185/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/12/2185/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:12:p:2185-:d:1533446

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().