Innovation and diffusion of electrical equipment for agricultural development in Minas Gerais, Brazil

The objective of this study was to describe and analyze the innovation-diffusion process of electrical equipment and home appliances by farmers. The innovation-diffusion process was induced by a rural electrification program financed by the World Bank and conducted by Centrais Elétricas de Minas Gerais (CEMIG). An interior region of the state of Minas Gerais, the Triangulo Mineiro, was selected for this purpose. Previous studies of innovation diffusion have demonstrated significant correlation between farm size, rural extension services, and road access to urban markets. This research focused on the relationships of land-use patterns, land distribution, rural extension and education efforts, and location of urban markets and transportation routes on the process of innovation diffusion of electrical equipment. Data collection required sampling and the procedure used was derived from both the factor-combination sampling and the area sampling unit, or quadrat. This method allowed the researcher to deal with an extensive agricultural area in which a great number of farms are connected to a complex electrical system. The most important innovations for all farm types are forage grinders, hydraulic pumps, and motors. However, most adoption of technology has been by large landholders. There appears to be no difference between large and small landholders concerning the adoption of home appliances. Information contacts have a positive statistical association with adoption of electrical equipment by farmers. However, a lack of effective extension programs in the process of interpersonal information to farmers has affected such decisions as whether or not farmers adopt the use of electrical equipment. The spatial diffusion of electrical equipment shows three initial patterns. First, large equipment (center-pivots, industrial sprinklers, crop mixing machines, and large motors) have a diffusion based on agricultural practices developed by large-scale farmers on the best soils of the Triangulo. Second, small motors, sprinklers, and pumps have a diffusion among farms in which ranching predominates over agriculture. This diffusion has an areal pattern of neighborhood effect in the interior districts. Finally, small equipment (small sprinklers, pumps, and rice hullers) have a lineal diffusion along main transportation routes where small-scale farms are characterized by shifting cultivation and ranching.