Total factor productivity growth in Brazilian agriculture and the role of agricultural research

Resumo

This paper reports statistical estimates of the effectiveness of the National System for agricultural research (SN PA ) and rural extension enterprises (EM A TERs) in Brazil. The study is based on an analysis o f Total Factor Productivity (TFP) changes over the agricultural census years 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985, with separate estimates for both crop and livestock sectors. In the analysis o f the effectiveness o f the research and extension program s, regional (e. g. the cerrados region) and geographic spillovers o f tw o types are incorporated: (1) spillovers from private sector industrial research to agriculture and (2) spillovers from the region o f research conduct to other regions. A grow th accounting exercise indicates that the leading contribution to growth com es from EMBRAPA research program s, with 9 % o f grow th in the aggregate; the industry R & D sector presents a sim ilar contribution; state research institutions contributed 5% to growth.