Análise Econômica da Prevenção e Controle do Cancro Cítrico no Estado de São Paulo

his paper aims to estimate the benefit-cost ratio of preventing, controlling or managing the citrus canker in São Paulo State, where citrus is a major crop concerning production and jobs. The index of contaminated plots with citrus canker increased 893 percent between 2009 and 2012, right after changes in the State regulation to control the disease, which justifies the importance of analyzing economic impacts. The Cost-Benefit Analysis is applied, once the most relevant benefits and costs involved are identified, to compare the effects over production and costs of production in the farm level. Thus, scenarios are simulated of prevention of canker, control and management under an expansion rate, along a lifetime of 20 years. Results point economic advantages of holding the citrus canker under control in São Paulo, i.e., with low levels of contamination of orchards. Managing the disease only partially, in such a way to face its dissemination along the medium and long term presents a benefit-cost ratio significantly lower than that obtained in the scenarios of prevention and control of canker with a stricter eradication of outbreaks.