ANALYSIS OF ENERGY SUFFICIENCY IN A FAMILY FARMING PRODUCTION CHAIN

ABSTRACT The value chains that compose family farming constitute several economic activities relevant to the Brazilian economy. The tobacco sector stands out for its financial aspect but also its environmental appeal. For this reason, it has been giving special attention to the sustainability of the production process, including the energy efficiency of tobacco drying, where forest biomass is used as a renewable energy source. Thus, the objective of this work was to carry out a diagnosis of forest production and consumption by tobacco producers. The applied methodology was based on the inventory of the producers’ forests and the Brazilian Association of Tobacco Growers’ database. It was estimated that the sector’s forestry base, comprised of the seven VTPR (Virginia tobacco-producing regions), had a total of 116,103.05 ha of Eucalyptus forest plantations. It is possible to observe that the forest structure is deregulated in both areas. The PR – Southeast, SC – North Plateau, SC – Alto Vale, and RS – Costa Doce regions showed a firewood deficit. The regions SC – Coast, and RS – Central Depression presented an oversupply of forest biomass. There is energy self-sufficiency for tobacco production for some of the VTPR. However, the scenarios showed a firewood deficit in part of the regions. Thus, results show that it is necessary to implement strategic plans to achieve energy self-sufficiency for the sector.