The Graduate Program in Agri-food Technology (PPGTA), Master's level, was approved with Concept 3 by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) in the second semester of 2008, at the Centre for Human, Social, and Agrarian Sciences (CCHSA) of the Federal University of Paraíba, with Food Science as its basic area.

            The Program is served in the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Animal Science (DCA) and Agroindustrial Technology Management (DGTA) of CCHSA/UFPB, in Bananeiras-PB, being inserted in the micro region of Brejo Paraibano, near Zona da Mata, Agreste and Sertão, allows research in different edaphoclimatic environments, meeting regional demands.

The city of Bananeiras (PB) has a privileged geographical location, 78 km from Campina Grande and 127 km from João Pessoa. For the CCHSA/UFPB, the PPGTA has been a benchmark and proof of the institution's struggle for academic improvement and the consolidation of quality education in the Agroindustrial Area.

            The PPGTA's goal is to train professionals capable of having a systemic view of the agroindustrial problem, with the skills to apply, adapt and generate knowledge in the agri-food area to take advantage of raw materials from different agricultural production chains. The program has two lines of research:

1. Production and Quality of Raw Materials
2. Agri-food Products Processes and Technology

The lines of research have particularities, aiming from the influence of the production systems on the final product, such as quality of the raw material and its systems of agroindustrial processing and distribution. These lines of research are supported by 14 thematic projects and 17 courses coordinated by the program's professors.

            The PPGTA lines of research develop projects aiming to verify the factors of agricultural production and their reflexes in the nutritional and functional quality of products of animal and vegetable origin, as well as the elaboration of new products with functional aspects, determination of antioxidant and bioactive substances in food, especially those with unique and regional characteristics. Another aspect that has been well elucidated in the most recent research of the line of research that involves the Processes and Technologies of Agri-food Products are studies involving edible packaging and with antioxidant and antimicrobial actions for products of animal and vegetable origin, with the use of extracts and essential oils native plants of the Northeastern Semi-arid. The characteristics of research activities permeate multidisciplinarity, due to the diversity of professor training, bringing important responses to the production chain and to the area of ​​food science and technology.

            Currently, the PPGTA has 15 professors, 12 of whom are permanent and 3 are collaborators, all of whom hold a PhD, working in several areas of Agrarian Sciences. PPGTA professors have a variety of backgrounds as they work in the areas of agronomy, agroecology, food science and technology and zootechnics, strengthening the program's two lines of research. PPGTA professors work in undergraduate degrees in Bachelor in Agroindustry, Bachelor in Agroecology, Degree in Agrarian Sciences at Campus III -Bananeiras and in the courses of Food Engineering and Food Technology at Campus I - João Pessoa, in addition to working in the courses technicians in Agriculture, Agroindustry and Nutrition and Dietetics at Campus III - Bananeiras-PB.

            The PPGTA is an Academic Master's program that aims to train professionals capable of having a systemic view of the agroindustrial problem, with the skills to apply, adapt and generate knowledge in the agri-food area to take advantage of raw materials from the different agri-food production chains, in line with the demands of local, regional, national and global organizations, to improve and develop methods of generation, characterization, analysis and new production technologies in the agri-food chain, as well as compose new technological processes that contribute consistently to improve the agri-food chains.

            Considering the demand observed in the PPGTA, an average of 12 places are offered annually for the course, divided into six places for each line of research, since we have the same number of professors per line.

            Since its implementation, the program has awarded 98 students with a master's degree who work in different institutions, both public and private, acting as professors, technicians and doctoral students. Next year we will pass 100 defenses, which will be a milestone for our program.

            The Program has maintained as objectives the training, with a level of excellence, of researchers and professors for the area of ​​agroindustry, which meet the country's demand, as well as the development of research on the frontier of knowledge in the area, promoting national scientific and technological development, with a bias towards international insertion. Therefore, concerns with the productive and academic-scientific sectors stand out, in the regional, national and international contexts.

            The PPGTA has as its primary focus the training of professionals capable of having a systemic and critical view of the agroindustrial problem, being able to apply, adapt and generate knowledge in agricultural production for the use in Science Food Technology, observing the vision of productive chains and production of raw materials of plant and animal origin. This action must be in line with regional, national and global demands, in the search for the development of new products, as well as improving the quality of existing products.

 

Thus, for the accomplishment of its mission, the PPGTA has as specific objectives:

1. a) Formulate and execute projects, studies and basic and applied research in agri-food technology, aiming at strengthening the area of ​​Food Science and Technology;
2. b) Generate and disseminate technologies and innovation, aiming at the modernization and improvement of the quality of food and the processes for obtaining products from the agri-food chains;
3. c) Train human resources, with a level of excellence, in agri-food technology;
4. d) Provide services in agri-food technology to public or private companies and society in general;
5. e) Develop new agri-food products, using local and regional raw materials;
6. f) Propose to take advantage of by-products and residues from the agroindustry, contributing to the reduction of costs with the food of low-income populations and to environmental preservation;
7. f) Contribute to the integration between the productive sector and the consumers that are part of the agri-food system.

            The Masters graduates of PPGTA are professionals with solid scientific training, social conscience, humanistic, ethical, critical, reflective, managerial, technical and scientific, which enables them to internalize values ​​of social responsibility, justice and professional ethics. Professionals have a systemic view of the agri-food problem, seeking solutions with respect for social, cultural, economic, technological and environmental aspects, at the local, regional, national and international levels. They will be able to apply, adapt and generate knowledge in agriculture, food science and technology, having an entrepreneurial and administrative vision towards

 

 

organizations or entities mainly focused on food production.

            They are capable of producing and disseminating scientific knowledge and development. They are able to act in teaching, research and extension activities in the evaluation of specific methodologies of programs and projects that deal with agro-ecosystems and natural ecosystems, production specification, management of biodiversity and human relations with the natural environment. They are also able to manage science and technology content in the areas of animal production, plant production, agroindustry and education.

            The graduates have worked strongly with public and private educational institutions, both in undergraduate and research, pursuing the themes covered in the Line of Research of their Master's degree, or integrating into new lines of research in related areas. In addition, they have contributed to increase the competitiveness of industries in the region, by acting in the research and development sector of the private sector.            

            The academic structure of the Stricto sensu Graduate Degree in Agri-Food Technology, at master's level, from the Centre for Human, Social, and Agrarian Sciences, courses in the area of ​​concentration in Agri-Food Technology, defined by CONSEPE/UFPB Resolution no 28/2015, portrays that the minimum credit limits in academic courses and activities for the payment of the Graduate Program in Agri-food Technology are 24 credits. These credits should preferably be fulfilled in the first 2 semesters.

The distribution of credits by courses and academic activities:

1. a) common mandatory courses: 12 credits
2. b) elective academic courses and/or activities: 12 credits (minimum)

            The credits attributable to activities in the Defense of the Dissertation Work Project, Teaching Internship and preparation and defense of the Final Project will not be counted in these limits.

 

1. Mandatory courses:
2. Seminars on Technology and Agri-food Production - 45 hours - Department of Agriculture / DA - STECA00024

 

1. Experimental Planning and Data Analysis - 60 hours - Department of Animal Science/DCA - STECA0025
   subdivided cells. Analysis of groups of experiments. Regression Analysis. Multivariate analysis.
2. Scientific Research Methodology - 45 hours - Department of Animal Science/DCA - STECA0026

 

1. Agri-food Biochemistry - 60 hours –Department of Management and Technology

 

1. Elective courses
2. Food Analysis - 75 hours - Agroindustrial Management and Technology Department/DGTA - 4103003

 

1. Sensory Analysis - 60 hours - Agroindustrial Management and Technology Department/DGTA - 4103004

 

1. Carcass Assessment and Meat Quality - 60 hours - Department of Animal Science/DCA - 4102008

 

1. Food Preservation - 45 hours - Agroindustrial Management and Technology Department/DGTA - 4103005

 

1. Animal Production Factors - 45 hours - Animal Science Department - DCA - STECA0029

 

 

 

 

1. Plant Production Factors - 60 hours - Department of Agriculture - DA - STECA0033

 

1. Food Chemistry - 60 hours - Department of Agroindustrial Management and Technology/DGTA - STECA0030

 

1. Post-Harvest Physiology - 60 hours - Department of Agroindustrial Management and Technology/DGTA - STECA0031

 

1. Microbiology of Agri-food Products - 60 hours - Department of Agroindustrial Management and Technology/DGTA - 4103009

 

1. Agroecological Technology for Food Production - 60 hours - Department of Agriculture/ DA - 4102009

 

1. Meat and Meat Products Technology - 60 hours - Department of Agroindustrial Management and Technology/DGTA - 4103011

 

1. Fish and Derivatives Technology - 60 hours - Department of Agroindustrial Management and Technology/DGTA - 4103012

 

1. Milk and Derivatives Technology - 60 hours - Agroindustrial Management and Technology Department/DGTA - 4103013

 

1. Special Topics in Agri-food Technology - 30 and 45 hours - Departments of DA/DCA/DGTA - 4102010

            According to Article 25 of the PPGTA Resolution, each credit corresponds to 15 hours of theoretical class or equivalent work and 30 hours of practical class or related work.

            The PPGTA has been concerned with offering courses that meet the two lines of research, and has carried out a plan so that all courses are offered in the 1st year of the student's admission. Another relevant aspect is that, at the discretion of the Board at the request of the Advisor, credits may be attributed to academic activities to be developed by only one student, called Special Studies, not provided for in the Academic Structure, but pertinent to the student's line of research up to the maximum of 2 credits.

            The teaching internship does not generate credits, but all students are obliged to do the same, according to Art. 29 of the PPGTA regulation reports that students regularly enrolled in the Program may, in due course, fulfill the Teaching Internship, without the right to credit, with the objective of improving themselves for the exercise of teaching at the level of higher education.

            The courses that will total the minimum required credit limits must be taken no later than the first year of entry into the Program. After completing the credits in courses, the student must enroll, in each period, in the activity "Dissertation Work".