Research and development in the irrigated rice seeds sector in Rio Grande do Sul State

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar os meios pelos quais as organiza????es dedicadas ?? pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) de sementes de arroz irrigado no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul fazem frente ?? a????o de agentes oportunistas, os quais promovem o com??rcio e o uso informal de materiais gen??ticos protegidos por Lei. O problema da pesquisa foi estruturado conforme a seguinte pergunta: Como os agentes envolvidos na P&D de sementes de arroz irrigado no RS enfrentam as dificuldades de remunera????o dos investimentos realizados no desenvolvimento de novas cultivares e de que maneira isso interfere na gest??o de suas estrat??gias competitivas? Para responder ?? quest??o, buscou-se a vis??o dos respons??veis diretos pela gest??o dos programas de P&D das cinco organiza????es que atuam no setor. O Referencial Te??rico que embasou o trabalho amparou-se nas teorias de Organiza????o Industrial (OI), Nova Economia Institucional (NEI), Ambiente Institucional (AI) e Economia dos Custos de Transa????o (ECT). A pesquisa enquadrou-se como um estudo de caso explorat??rio de natureza aplicada, cuja forma de abordagem e an??lise dos dados ?? qualitativa, do tipo an??lise de conte??do. A obra guarda, ainda, caracter??sticas de um censo, pois s??o cinco as unidades que atendem aos requisitos do estudo e todas ofereceram respostas ao question??rio da pesquisa. A coleta dos dados prim??rios deu-se por meio de uma survey em corte transversal, realizada entre os meses de mar??o e julho de 2008. Os resultados mostraram que, entre as organiza????es consultadas, apenas uma n??o teve suas sementes utilizadas de forma ilegal. Entretanto, todas apontaram que foram afetadas por atos envolvendo o uso indevido de sementes protegidas. As cinco organiza????es afirmaram que a receita obtida pelo com??rcio de sementes de arroz no RS, at?? o momento, ?? insuficiente para financiar suas atividades de P&D. Como conseq????ncia, houve retra????o no n??mero de lan??amentos de sementes de arroz por meio de variedades. As estrat??gias j?? adotadas para a continuidade dos investimentos passam, necessariamente, pela P&D de atributos anti-reprodutivos das pr??prias sementes. Assim, a maioria dos recursos foi direcionada para o desenvolvimento de h??bridos de arroz como principal estrat??gia de prote????o da propriedade intelectual. Observou-se certo descr??dito do setor em rela????o ao papel de coordena????o do sistema de produ????o e comercializa????o de sementes no Estado. Na vis??o dos profissionais consultados, seria fundamental que se empreendessem a????es institucionais mais intensivas principalmente na fiscaliza????o e controle desses processos. Para eles, a aplica????o de puni????o criminal severa aos contraventores seria um modo eficaz de se promover o cumprimento das Leis e, assim, tentar melhorar a coordena????o no setor. Salientou-se, ainda, que as campanhas de conscientiza????o deveriam ser mais estimuladas, de modo que todos os envolvidos na quest??o reconhecessem a import??ncia do pagamento de royalties (ou outro meio de remunera????o dos investimentos) como forma de garantia da manuten????o do setor de P&D de sementes de arroz irrigado no RS.The aim of this work was to investigate the ways in which the organizations dedicated to the research and development (R&D) of rice irrigated seeds in the Rio Grande do Sul State face the action of opportunist agents, which promote the commerce and the informal use of genetic materials protected by Law. The research problem was structured as the following questions: How do the agents involved in the R&D of rice irrigated seeds in RS face the difficulties of remuneration in the investments carried out during the development of new varieties of seeds; and how do these difficulties intervene in the management of competitive strategies? For answering this question, the vision of the responsible right-handers for the programs management in R&D, from five organizations that act in the sector, was investigated. The Theoretical Reference used in this research was based on the theories of Industrial Organization (IO), New Institutional Economy (NIE), Institutional Environment (IE) and Transactions Cost Economics (TCE). The research is an exploratory case study of applied nature, whose way of approach and data analysis is qualitative, of the type content analysis. The research also presents characteristics of a census, since there are five units that follow the study requirements and all of them have offered answers to the research questionnaire. The primary data collection was done through a transversal cut survey, carried out from March to July, 2008. The results have shown that, among the consulted organizations, only one did not have its seeds illegally used. However, all of them pointed out they have been affected by acts involving the inappropriate use of legally protected seeds. The five organizations have affirmed that the prescription gotten by the commerce of rice seeds in the RS State, up to the moment, is not enough to finance its activities of R&D. As consequence, there was a retraction in the number of launchings of rice seeds through the varieties. The strategies already adopted for the continuity of the investments are analyzed, necessarily, by the R&D of anti-reproductive attributes of the proper seeds. Thus, the majority of the resources were directed for the development of rice hybrids as the main strategy of the copyright protection. Some discredit from the sector in relation to the coordination role of the seeds production system and commercialization in the RS State was observed. In the consulted professionals view, it would be essential that more intensive institutional actions were undertaken in both inspection and in the control of such process. For them, the application of severe criminal punishment to the offenders would be an efficient way to promote the fulfillment of the Laws and, thus, trying to improve the coordination in the sector. It was also observed the awareness campaigns should be more stimulated in order that all the involved ones in the question could recognize the importance of royalties payment (or another way of investments remuneration) as a way to guarantee the maintenance of the R&D sector of the irrigated rice seeds in the RS State