As dimensões dos custos de transação da cafeicultura baiana: uma análise a partir da percepção dos produtores de cafés especiais do Planalto da Conquista – BA

Abstract

Coffee is the second most consumed drink in the world, second only to water, and Brazil occupies the position of world leader in the primary production of this bean. In addition to its agricultural relevance, the coffee production activity is a segment with an important socioeconomic function in the state, especially for the Planalto da Conquista region, involving family farmers in the development of a productive activity of extreme relevance for generating income and securing of man in rural areas, which reinforces the importance of an institutional environment of good governance in this market, which can be analyzed based on the theoretical contributions of New Institutional Economics (NEI), specifically, through Transaction Cost Economics (ECT). The objective of this work is to analyze how the dimensions of transaction costs influence specialty coffee producers in the Planalto da Conquista-BA. The research in question proposes, based on the behavioral assumptions of opportunism and limited rationality, a model for analyzing Transaction Costs based on 03 (three) structural dimensions: Frequency, Uncertainty and Asset Specificities. This investigation is of fundamental importance for the sustainability of the production chain and the guarantee of income for rural producers, as it made it possible, among others, to have knowledge of the degree of uncertainty underlying producers, the transactional frequency of business carried out and the possibility of reapplication (other forms of use) of assets used in coffee farming, demonstrating the feasibility of a resource being used in a different way than currently. As a product of the analyzes carried out, based on the subsidies obtained from this research, recommendations for improving governance were developed to reduce transaction costs for specialty coffee producers in the Planalto da Conquista-BA region.