PRODUCTIVE TRANSFORMATIONS AND TERRITORIALIZATION OF THE SUGARCANE AGRIBUSINESS IN FRUTAL (MG)

Abstract

The space expansion of sugarcane agribusiness in the last two decades occurred with the expectation of establishing Brazil as a major agrofuel producer and to meet the world's demands for renewable fuels. The county of Frutal, located in the Triângulo Mineiro/Alto Paranaíba mesoregion has become one of the productive territories due to the combination of favorable conditions that resulted in the installation of the Cerradão and Bunge (Frutal) plants. Therefore, we aim to present the main transformations triggered by the territorialization of sugarcane agribusiness that took place in this county. For that, a theoretical review, field research, consultation in specialized magazines in the subject and, later, data collection and its further representation were carried out. As a result, we highlight that the expansion of services in the city of Frutal, the land incorporation for sugarcane, previously destined for other crops and activities, generated productive transformations at the local level. The main challenges that were identified and need to be overcome were deforestation, the use of pesticides, the impacts on food crops on small family farmers for their permanence on the land.