https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/anti.12655?af=R Abstract

In this paper, I examine the speculative dimensions of biodiesel production in Northeast Brazil under the National Program for the Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB), by focusing on the case of castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) in semi"?arid Bahia, a promising flex crop that was said to generate social, environmental and economic benefits, especially for the historically marginalised Northeast peasantry. I argue that speculative practices over castor have relied on state policies and discourses as well as biophysical and biotechnological (im)materialities that are transforming agrarian relations in ways that compromise peasants' control over their (re)productive systems while promoting the expansion of the agroindustrial frontier. By examining the everyday, performative and place"?based character of speculative biodiesel practices and their uneven and contested socioenvironmental implications, this paper contributes to current political ecology debates on the nexus between agroenergy development, nature's capitalist valuation and rural dispossession.

Resumo

Neste artigo, examino as dimens??es especulativas da produ????o de biodiesel no Nordeste do Brasil, no ??mbito do Programa Nacional de Produ????o e Uso do Biodiesel (PNPB), concentrando"?me no caso da mamona (Ricinus communis) no semi??rido baiano, uma cultura dita flex??vel que prometia gerar benef??cios sociais, ambientais e econ?micos, especialmente para os camponeses do Nordeste historicamente marginalizados. Argumento que pr??ticas especulativas sobre a mamona se constitu??ram atrav?s de pol??ticas e discursos do Estado, bem como de (im)materialidades biof??sicas e biotecnol??gicas que transformaram as rela????es agr??rias, comprometendo o controle dos camponeses sobre seus sistemas (re)produtivos e promovendo a expans??o da fronteira agroindustrial. Ao examinar o car??ter cotidiano, performativo e situado das pr??ticas especulativas de biodiesel, bem como suas implica????es socioambientais desiguais e contestadas, este artigo contribui para os debates atuais em ecologia pol??tica sobre o nexo entre desenvolvimento agroenerg?tico, valoriza????o capitalista da natureza e despossess??o rural.

» Author: 2> <p>Despite their imposing material presence, the values and harms stemming from the construction of infrastructural megaprojects remain speculative affairs in Istanbul, Turkey. This article distinguishes two modes of speculation pertaining to

» Source: Wiley

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