Assessment of environmental management of milk producers in samll farms in Taquari Valley (Brazil) using performance x importance matrices

Abstract

It is estimated that 12.5% of milk production (one million liters per day) of brazilian Rio Grande do Sul state is coming from the region named Taquari Valley, involving nearly 9,000 families, who find in this activity conditions to remain in rural areas. This work aims to contribute to the management of these properties, by focusing on environmental aspects, evaluating the matrix "Importance x Performance". The study area consists of four small farms in the municipality of Arroio do Meio - RS. Based on the data of a research previously conducted by Rempel et al (2012) to assess the environmental sustainability, it was possible to verify the applicability of the matrix as a tool for prioritizing actions to improve the environmental quality of these properties. It was found that the matrix applied can be helpful in the process of environmental management of the milk producers farms of Arroio do Meio, being also possible to apply this methodology in other properties for assessing key actions to be taken to improve the environmental sustainability.