I would like to express my especial gratitude to my friends and office mates Yo Worachananant and Peter Wegener for supporting me and for the pleasant and productive working environment provided that was essential for the success of my studies. I'm really glad to say I'm your friend! Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my brother and friend Sérgio Brunale who played a key role in my research, selecting and involving the necessary departments to collect data about Embrapa and the Brazilian agricultural research system. I really appreciate your love and support. I also would like to thanks