A IMPORTÂNCIA DAS INOVAÇÕES TECNOLÓGICAS DESENVOLVIDAS PELO CENTRO TECNOLÓGICO COMIGO NO PROCESSO DE MODERNIZAÇÃO DAS ESTRUTURAS AGRÍCOLAS DA REGIÃO DO SUDOESTE GOIANO

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to understand the importance of the technological innovations developed by COMIGO Technology Center (CTC) and how they have strengthened the process of modernization of the agricultural area of southwest Goiás. The investigation began by examining the historical context of the emergence of agriculture in Goiás in the eighteenth century, a period marked by the discovery of gold and the formation of the state population. With the decline of the mining industry, a transitional phase for the agricultural economy began, characterized by the predominance of subsistence farming and overgrazing. The diversification of agricultural production originated from the introduction of the practice of farming in the first half of the twentieth century. However, the process of modernization of farming only occurred after the 1970s, stimulated by a set of policies from the federal government. This environment fostered the birth of several institutions, whose main imprint was established in the context of agricultural development. The Cooperative COMIGO was founded at this time. This study had two main goals as its purpose, firstly it aimed to evaluate the process of technology transfer carried out by CTC to its members and secondly, to identify new demands and opportunities of research originated in the farms that belonged to these producers. This work was established through the application of a questionnaire survey to a group of 307 members, characterized as "crops" and proportionately distributed in 12 municipalities in which COMIGO has business units. The results showed that the majority of respondents agreed on the relevance of CTC technologies in the course of their agricultural activities, and indicated that almost 70% of these respondents have already made use of some innovation generated. Besides this information, it was found also that more than 50% of the members in question, presented new research demands.