Technological level of family agricultural units in the microregions of Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The research aimed to measure the technological level of family agricultural units (UAF) in the Northeast region of Brazil. For this, a Technological Index was created in the UAF (ITUAF), using the technique of factor analysis by the main component method. In addition to this index, the analysis of clusters is applied to identify technological clusters among the northeastern microregions. For the technology level, five levels were defined (“Too High”, “High”, “Medium”, “Low”, and “Very Low”). One hundred sixty-six microregions were selected, and 18 variables were used as technology indicators, using the factor analysis technique. The cluster analysis proposed by the work to identify the technology clusters in the microregions defined two clusters, denominated as “less technological” (cluster 1) and “more technological” (cluster 2). These clusters show that in the Northeast region, considering the microregions studied, most of them, namely, 56.63%, are inserted in cluster 1, that is, it has a less intense technological level compared to cluster 2. Regarding the northeastern states, most are in cluster 2 (technical level “more intense”), that is, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Maranhão, and Piauí have all microregions and, consequently, their UAF at the “less intense” technical level.

Keywords
technology; factor and cluster analysis; Northeast