ABSTRACT
The development of ethanol as an automotive fuel is an example of this paradox. Fuel ethanol production in Brazil emerged with the Federal Government's ProAlcool Program, which was a response to the oil crises in the1970s, and to save sugarcane producers from bankruptcy after major modernization investments were followed by a significant drop in sugar prices. The ProAlcool Program involved government agencies, the military, the ethanol industry, researchers, the media and established sugarcane producers controlled by wealthy families, all of whom engaged to create a market and stimulate the use of ethanol as an automobile fuel. Brazilian policy-makers have since recognized that such regional inequality had negative effects on employment and migration, exacerbating social exclusion. Consistent with much of the sustainable supply chain literature, one of the requirements placed on industry to obtain the Social Fuel Stamp is providing technical assistance to small farmers.
