Evaluation of Rice Production Costs on Small Farms in the State of Rio Grande do Sul: a Case Study

Abstract

Costs in agribusiness not only allow a better evaluation of the production system and provide information for decision-taking but also the adoption of alternatives to increase gains. Current analysis retrieves the production costs of a farm in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The descriptive research deals with a case study featuring 15 hectares of irrigated rice plantation for 2008/2009. Data were collected from the owner who described the culture stages. Method comprised costs by absorption whose application in each stage revealed the total costs of the production process. Results show that planting, harvest and transport were the most expensive stages. Fertilizers represented 40.46% of costs probably because they were used at different stages of the process. Services represented 22.55% of total costs, possibly occasioned by insufficiency of resources to be invested in machinery and other equipments. Since total costs were 81.06% of gross income, the net gain of the producer was 18.94%. High rate of total costs and the slight gain percentage during the period favor the undertaking of financing the next crop season. However, resources from rural credit banks insert the producers within market dynamics and contribute towards the growth and modernization of agriculture and cattle-breeding production.