Economic performance of sunflower in family farming systems of southeastern Parana, southern Brazil

This study aimed to evaluate the economic performance of sunflower in family farms of the Southeastern region of Parana. Twenty-six situations were evaluated, according to the agroecological conditions, the different levels of mechanization, the amounts of fertilizer applied and varieties. Principal Component Analysis showed that the economic performance was not correlated to the level of mechanization. It was possible to obtain higher gross margins in intensive mechanization, intermediate or animal traction systems. Among the factors that comprise the gross margin, costs with fertilizers and crop yields were those of more importance for the economic performance. On the other side, as the seed costs was not correlated with the gross margin, for the conditions of this study, from the economic perspective it is more interesting the use of high-yielding varieties, even if the cost is higher. Cluster Analysis grouped the 26 situations into four classes of economic performance. The lowest gross margins ranged from R$180 ha(-1) (totally mechanized) and R$288 ha(-1) (intermediate and animal traction). The highest gross margins ranged from R$553 ha(-1) (totally mechanized) and R$695 ha(-1) (animal traction and intermediate).