| The economy of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southern-most state, is based largely on agriculture and livestock production, and the variety of crops grown reflects the state's diversity of physical and cultural environments. Livestock ranching, commercial rice and wheat growing, and small-scale subsistence agriculture traditionally have been important in the state's economy. However, by the 1960s commercial soybean production also emerged as a major factor in agriculture, and by 1977 the export of this crop dominated the rural economy. Such rapid growth in the importance of one crop resulted in widespread changes in agricultural land use over a short period of time. Given the importance of agriculture in the state, there was a need to identify, delimit and map existing crop-livestock regions in Rio Grande do Sul, as well as to assess the role of government assistance to agriculture and the adoption of innovations.;The exploratory portion of the study consisted of administering a formal interview schedule to a selected sample of thirty-two agriculturalists representative of large and small landholdings in eight municipios of the state. Those interviewed were also representative of farmers producing three major crops, i.e., wheat, soybeans and rice. The schedule consisted of thirty-eight questions concerning personal characteristics, type of crop produced, area cultivated, crop rotation, use of extension service, agricultural marketing and perception of success or failure in agriculture. Methods used in evaluating the statistical significance of the data consisted of Chi-Square, Analysis of Frequencies and Pearson Correlation.;Several conclusions are considered valid as a result of the statistical analyses: (1) Chi-square analyses indicate that a significant relationship exists between agricultural yields and landholding size, and between agricultural yields and the use of extension services. (2) The Pearson Correlation analyses seem to indicate that: (a) the higher the educational level, the less time in agriculture; (b) the higher the educational level, the higher the agricultural yields; (c) the higher the educational level, the greater the tendency of owners to rent property; (d) the greater the organizational membership, the higher the ownership level; (e) the higher the membership in agricultural organizations, the greater the use of extension centers; (f) the smaller the landholding, the greater the use of extension services; (g) the greater the use of extension services, the lower the incidence of crop diseases; (h) the greater the participation in agricultural experiments, the greater the adoption of new ideas.;In addition, the study revealed widespread agricultural land use changes, including expansion of the commercial soybean production zone. Strong geographic variations in the level of agricultural development were noted throughout the various regions of the state, i.e., some areas are characterized by dynamic agricultural changes, while others remain technologically stagnant. The creation of federal crop-livestock research centers, and the consolidation of agricultural extension services to eliminate duplication of effort, exemplifies the government's commitment to further agricultural development in Rio Grande do Sul.;The investigation is both descriptive and exploratory. The descriptive part includes an analysis of existing crop-livestock regions and subregions of the state, delimited in part through the author's preparation of an updated crop-livestock land-use map utilizing government air photographs. The review of literature, geographic overview of Rio Grande do Sul, and nonformal interviews with agricultural technicians, university professors, researchers, bankers, farmers and ranchers, were also descriptive in nature. |
