Current status of the Brazilian ethanol program : Report on Hiroshima University-IDEC's mission to Brazil. <Report>

This article reports the results of a research mission of the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC) faculty to Brazil in September 2009. The purpose of the mission was to strengthen the understanding about the relation between ethanol policy, the local development and current importance of ethanol program as strategy to emission mitigation in Brazil. Relevant notes on discussions carried out with specialists from government and private organizations are presented and afterwards jointly evaluated by the mission's participants. Among the main results it was observed a consensus on the necessary increment of sugarcane crops and ethanol production in Brazil in order to attend both domestic and international demands. Several evidences of diversification on the usage of ethanol indicate that demand for the fuel will keep the growing consumption records observed over the last decade what also generates concerns on the supplying capacity and the policies regarding the land usage and sugarcane cultivation. A subsection dedicated to post-mission research activities are presented followed by general conclusions and recommendations for further researches.