MACAÚBA'S PRODUCTION SYSTEM: CHALLENGES OF A SUSTAINABLE MODEL UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Brazil's relevance in clean energy production is well-known. The emergence of policies that encouraged the use of environmentally friendly fuels were the main drivers for improving management, planting and harvesting conditions and minimizing negative impacts on these systems (e.g. sugarcane and soybeans), as well as on the lives of workers. The proposed Macaúba system should start and be built on more sustainable bases, compared to other similar biofuel production systems, in a broader and more aggregating vision in several dimensions. Thus, the objective of this work is to develop the most appropriate production system that can be a reference in sustainability, and also as an efficient attempt to analyze how technologies and processes are being developed and implemented, examine the difficulties, and prospect for improvements implemented for a future Macaúba production system. To achieve this objective, a series of probable characteristics of some systems that are in operation were identified, based on observations, documentary and bibliographic research, to serve as a basis for the system. Based on the observations and discussions, possible sustainability indicators will be presented in the environmental, social and economic dimensions. The initial results show that it is promising to start from an innovative system construction, but that it also presents enormous challenges due to the extension and scale required for the development of the system. It is expected that the results from this survey will point to the main and best indicators, and that they can serve to build a more appropriate and sustainable reference method for the future Macaúba production chain. With this system model - with its advances and challenges - it will be possible to formulate specific public policies that encourage and stimulate both the expansion along the lines outlined here and also the production and its co-products.