Reputational risk in beef cattle slaughterhouses in the Brazilian Amazon

The relevance of the beef chain to the Brazilian economy has increased in the last two decades. This growth has been accompanied by the advance of cattle production and agro-industries to areas located within the Legal Amazon. The impacts of this displacement have been contested by stakeholders. These actors attribute to the beef supply chains originating in that region a set of negative social and environmental repercussions. On reaction of the slaughterhouses in response to this challenge is the implementation of risk management systems that mitigate possible damage to their reputations caused by the publicizing of the possible deleterious effects of their activities. In this context, this study aims to analyze how the slaughterhouses in the Amazon region identify socio-environmental factors of suppliers that have the potential to raise their reputational risks and also the strategies used to mitigate these risks. For that, a qualitative exploratory study was developed through a multiple case study. The results showed that risk factors are largely established in public commitments negotiated with stakeholders. Deforestation, invasion of indigenous lands, work analogous to slavery and destruction of protected areas are the most cited factors as reputational risk generators. As risk mitigation strategies, the slaughterhouses maintain socio-environmental assessment practices of all their suppliers through a system of registry verification of the existence of infractions in the farms. Verification system auditing and reporting to the stakeholder are also used. The mitigation strategy of avoiding the risk changing supplier is more frequent. Other forms of mitigation are also observed, but it is noted that the risk is accepted when the stakeholders' perception indicates that the slaughterhouses are not responsible for livestock irregularities.Não recebi financiamentoA relevância da cadeia de carne bovina para a economia brasileira tem aumentado nas duas últimas décadas. Esse crescimento tem sido acompanhado pelo avanço da pecuária e das agroindústrias para territórios situados dentro da Amazônia Legal. Os impactos desse deslocamento têm sido contestados por stakeholders. Esses agentes atribuem às cadeias de suprimento de carne originária dessa região um conjunto de repercussões sociais e ambientais negativas. Um dos movimentos dos frigoríficos em reação a essa contestação é a implantação de sistemas de gestão de risco que mitiguem eventuais danos às suas reputações causados pela publicização dos possíveis efeitos deletérios de suas atividades. Nesse contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo identificar práticas gerenciais de mitigação de riscos reputacionais em frigoríficos de carne bovina da Amazônia Legal, referentes a ações socioambientais inadequadas de seus fornecedores pecuaristas . Para tanto, um estudo qualitativo exploratório foi desenvolvido por meio de estudo de múltiplos casos. Os resultados mostraram que os fatores de risco estão, em grande parte, estabelecidos em compromissos públicos negociados com stakeholders. Desmatamento, invasão de terras indígenas, trabalho análogo à escravidão e destruição de unidades de conservação são os fatores mais citados como geradores de risco reputacional. Como estratégias de mitigação de riscos, os frigoríficos mantêm práticas de verificação socioambiental de todos seus fornecedores por meio de um sistema de verificação cadastral da existência de infrações nas fazendas. Auditoria do sistema de verificação e reporte aos stakeholder também são usados. A estratégia de mitigação de evitar o risco pela mudança de fornecedor é a mais frequente. Outras formas de mitigação também são observadas, porém é notável que o risco é aceito quando a percepção dos stakeholders indica que os frigoríficos não são responsáveis por irregularidades de pecuaristas

Management of socioenvironmental factors of reputational risk in the beef supply chain in the Brazilian Amazon region

Increased production of Brazilian beef has been associated with negative impacts in the Amazon region. Supply chain interventions are increasingly common to avoid social and environmental consequences in the area, but evidence about how companies have managed these efforts is scarce. The present study identified the main sources of reputational risks in Brazilian Amazon beef supply chains and the actions taken by slaughterhouses to manage these types of risk. A multiple case study was developed in Brazilian beef supply chains that have suffered consequences to their operations from consecutive actions of stakeholders that link meat production with deforestation and the worst practices of production in the Amazon region. Public agreements with stakeholders and the development of supplier management were used to identify reputational risks. The present study also describes the types of risk and how they are mitigated. Based on the results, the authors propose a set of risk management practices in the supply chains to manage risks through stakeholder engagement, use of government open data sources, and sharing information with direct suppliers

Plurality of governance on cattle ranches: case studies in Brazil

The present article investigated the plural forms of governance that have been adopted in buying and selling transactions by cattle ranches with differentiated markets. In addition, it proposes to describe and explain which determinants influence this plurality, based on the theoretical principles of transaction cost economics. The analysis was based on the observation of both upstream transactions and commitments and agreements established downstream by two ranches, both specialized in beef cattle, but with different competitive strategies. The adoption of plural forms demonstrates diverse competitive advantages, insofar as both can meet the requirements of different distribution channels or increase production capacity. The results indicated that the governance structures adopted by the ranchers studied responded to the demands of the strategies adopted for their production units. Thus, the adopted governance structures should be aligned with their strategies for the cattle ranches to be successfu

Propagação da Pitaya 'vermelha' por estaquia Propagation of red Pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) by cuttings

Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o efeito do tamanho da estaca e a aplicação de ácido indolbutírico (AIB) no enraizamento de Pitaya 'vermelha'. Estacas de Pitaya 'vermelha' foram coletadas de plantas matrizes e padronizadas com 15,0 e 25,0 cm de comprimento, sendo que metade da quantidade das estacas foi imersa em solução de 3000 mg L-1 de AIB por vinte segundos (imersão rápida) e a outra metade não. Posteriormente, as estacas foram colocadas em canteiro contendo mistura de terra + esterco de curral (3:1 v/v) como substrato. Após 60 dias, foram avaliados as porcentagens de estacas enraizadas e de estacas vivas, e o número de raízes emitidas por estaca. Como conclusão observou-se que o AIB aumentou a porcentagem de estacas enraizadas e promoveu a melhoria da qualidade do sistema radicular das estacas de pitaya vermelha. As estacas de 25,0 cm de comprimento foram mais promissoras para a produção de mudas.This work was carried with the objective to evaluate the cutting length and application of IBA in rooting of red pitaya cutting. The pitaya cutting were collected of stock plant and standardized with 15.0 and 25.0 cm of length and half of the amount of the cuttings received treatment with 3000 mg L-1 of IBA for twenty seconds. Later the cuttings were placed in stonemason containing a soil mixture + corral manure (3:1 v/v) as substrate. After 60 days, the rooting and survival percentage and number of roots emitted by cutting were evaluated. As conclusion, were observed that IBA increased the rooting percentage and promoted the improvement of the quality of roots of red pitaya cuttings