A matriz energética das unidades de produção familiar do território do alto Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais

Abstract

Energy is essential for the production of agricultural systems. The purpose of this article is to analyze the main sources of energy used by farmers in the Territory of Alto Jequitinhonha, Northeast of Minas Gerais. The information was collected from 23 families domiciled in 6 rural communities in 4 different municipalities, using interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire divided into 4 thematic axes: family profile, production, water and energy. The results show that, in order to produce, in addition to sunlight, farmers combine energy matrices of biological, fossil and industrial origin. Human labor is dominant in both the domestic and productive units, most of the time exercised by family members, although they hire human labor, pointed out as one of the main financial expenses with energy in production. In the domestic unit, the main energy inputs are electricity, essential for the home and electrical equipment, alcohol and gasoline fuels, cooking gas and firewood. In the productive unit - yard, crop, pasture and vegetable garden - in addition to human labor, farmers use animal .