Socio-economics of Acai Production in Rural Communities in the Brazilian Amazon: A Case Study in the Municipality of Igarapé-Miri, State of Pará

Abstract

The Acai, a fruit of the Acai tree (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), is one of the main foods consumed by the riverside communities in the Brazilian Amazon. In addition, it has become the main source of income of these small producers as its consumption has widely expanded since the 1990s due to the recognition of its properties as an energetic and functional food. In order to analyze the production system and the socioeconomic changes that occurred in rural communities whose economical support is from the management of the Acai tree, a case study was carried out in two communities on the island of Mamangal, in the municipality of Igarapé-Miri, in the state of Pará, Brazilian Amazon. Fifty-two semistructured questionnaires were applied to the Acai farming families in these communities located in the municipality in the largest Brazilian producer of this fruit. The main transformations observed in the assessed communities, especially since the last decade, were influenced by the access to electric energy and the expansion of income from the Acai that made possible the expansion of the acquisition of durable consumer goods that even contributed to diversifying the diet of those farmers. Some of the difficulties faced by Acai production are the lack of technical assistance and rural extension services as well in addition to the strong dependence of the communities on the income generated by the Acai.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.): An Overview of the Potentials of the “Golden Grain” and Socio-Economic and Environmental Aspects of Its Cultivation and Marketization

“…Income dependence due to seasonality and price fluctuations, new management practices, and the future of supply-demand balance can put producing communities in vulnerable position [101,102]. The introduction of monoculture and "modern production models" can bear further negative impacts to local communities [101] (p. 944).…”

Agroecologia: diálogos entre ciência e práxis em agroecossistemas familiares na Amazônia

“…A pesquisa agrícola no estado do Pará, que praticamente começou em 1939 com a criação do Instituto Agronômico do Norte (IAN), se voltou, inicialmente, para a viabilização de cultivos de terra firme, com ênfase na seringueira e aproveitamento das várzeas para a produção de alimentos, em especial, com a rizicultura e a bubalinocultura. Na sequência, o surgimento em 1962 do Instituto de Pesquisa e Experimentação do Norte (IPEAN) e a criação em 1973 da Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), deram suporte à implantação de políticas de ocupação agropecuária da Amazônia, via elaboração de zoneamentos agroclimáticos e desenvolvimento de pesquisas voltadas à implantação das atividades agrícolas e pecuárias baseadas no uso crescente da mecanização e adoção de insumos industrializados (HOMMA, 2003;SILVA et al, 2019). Em caráter pioneiro, contudo, datam deste período inicial algumas iniciativas de pesquisa de natureza ecológica, como as realizadas por equipes pluridisciplinares e pluriinstitucionais na Área de Pesquisa Ecológica do Guama-Apeg, em Belém (GOMES et al, 2007).…”

“…Utilizou-se a ferramenta MESMIS (ASTIER et al, 2008;SILVA et. al., 2017) para avaliar e comparar o estado de sustentabilidade de três agroecossistemas familiares SILVA et al, 2019) no Projeto de Assentamento de Reforma Agrária João Batista II, descrito aqui como PA João Batista II. A pesquisa empírica e reflexão teórica compõem resultados do Projeto do CNPq, CHAMADA UNIVERSAL MCTI/CNPq Nº 01/2016, intitulado "Estratégias de inovações tecnológicas para o desenvolvimento rural em contexto da Amazônia paraense".…”

Extractive activity of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Acai palm tree) in the Araguari River Valley, Eastern Amazon

“…Research conducted in the Amazon with E. oleracea has shown the importance of the species for the populations that inhabit the floodplains of the Amazon estuary (Calzavara, 1972;Freitas et al, 2010;Nogueira & Homma, 2014;Cruz Junior, 2016;Silva Junior et al, 2019). Therefore, the objective of the research was to identify the knowledge of the riverside families about the acai berry extraction activity in the Araguari river valley.…”