CASSAVA FLOUR HOUSES IN THE REGION OF BRAGANÇA: AN ANALYSIS OF ENTERPRISES WITH ARTISANAL CERTIFICATION
Family farming, Rural agroindustry, Cassava flour, Socioeconomic analysis, Amazon.
The state of Pará stands out as the largest producer of cassava in the country and the Bragantina Region is one of the main production centers in Pará. This region is composed of the municipalities of Augusto Corrêa, Bragança, Cachoeira do Piriá, Santa Luzia do Pará, Tracuateua and Viseu, where cassava farming is the main segment of the agricultural economy, responsible, in 2022, for 61.20% of the value of agricultural production. Cassava production is directly linked to Bragantina family farming, and cassava flour production is the most important product for food security, labor occupation and income generation. The objective of this dissertation was to analyze the socioeconomic and technological profile of cassava production and flour houses, as well as their level of adequacy to the Good Manufacturing Practices established in the current legislation of handicraft products. The dissertation consists of four chapters, including this contextualization. Chapter II analyzes the productive, technological and socioeconomic context of cassava cultivation and flour production in the Bragantina Region, where secondary data from official sources were used, aiming at a conjunctural evaluation of cassava production and market. Chapter III consisted of the analysis of questionnaires related to the issues of the characteristics of flour houses, involving technical and marketing aspects and also about the perceptions of entrepreneurs about the factors that can limit the development of the cassava production chain in the Bragantina Region. In this chapter, it was also analyzed, through the application of a checklist, the percentage of compliance with the Good Manufacturing Practices of Flour Houses, which are certified by the Agricultural Defense Agency of the state of Pará (ADEPARÁ). The results indicate that production has been reducing sharply since 2015, motivated by the retraction of the cultivated area, drop in productivity and also due to socioeconomic and agroclimatic phenomena such as aging of the rural population and lack of successors, soil degradation, phytosanitary problems, climate change, deficiency of marketing channels, in addition to the low level of access to technical assistance services and rural credit. As for the flour houses, it was found that the average level of compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices was 60%, which indicates the need for advances in investments in the infrastructures of these flour houses. Chapter IV contains the general conclusions of the research. The results of this dissertation contribute with important information for the improvement of the policy of artisanal products in the state of Pará and, particularly, with the public and private agents that work in the cassava production chain in the Bragantina Region.