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Abstract
The aim of this work is to characterize milk producers in Southwestern
Paraná. It has been considered technical, technological, managerial, economic and social
aspects. 202 producers have been interviewed, grouped into three distinct clusters,
according to productivity levels. As results, milk producers in the region presented, on
average, superior indicators when compared to data in Paraná, ratifying better organization
and productive system in the region. Relevant differences among producers with different
productivity levels could be pointed out. Low-productivity producers, in general, are
more engaged in rural work, produce low volume of milk and work in milk activity for
longer time, which can indicate path dependency. Besides that, higher percentage of
producers in that group doesn’t have milk as main activity and present limitations
related to either farm size or farm characteristics. Other limitations are related to
technological level, management systems, access to credit, technical and managerial
assistance, training and investments in milk activity.