IDENTIFICAÇÃO DOS ATRIBUTOS PARA A QUALIDADE DO LEITE EM PEQUENAS PROPRIEDADES

Abstract

Milk consumption in Brazil and abroad has increased significantly. Along with the increase in consumption, there is also an increase in demands for quality. However, it is noted that coordination failures have negatively impacted the chain's ability to spread information and distribute value in an equitable manner, discouraging quality and consequently loss of competitiveness. Most of the milk produced in Brazil comes from small rural properties. Thus, it is important to identify the factors that result in good practices providing the production of quality milk up the chain. The present study aimed to identify the attributes that interfere with milk quality. With the objective in mind, we used the qualitative approach of an exploratory and descriptive nature, carried out through face-to-face interviews with twenty-two small dairy farmers. In addition to the interview script, on-site observation and notepad registration were adopted as a data collection instrument. For data analysis, the content analysis technique was used and as support for data analysis, the Mind Mapper software was used. The results demonstrate that although some producers are aware of practices that positively impact milk quality, this is not converted into practice, resulting in low quality milk production. It was observed that the devaluation in the price discourages investments by the producers and consequently loss of competitiveness.