PRODUCTION OF AÇAI (Euterpe oleracea MART.) IN FIRM AND VARZE LAND AREAS IN THE NORTHEAST OF Pará:
EXPANSION, MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY PERCEPTION OF FAMILY FARMERS.
Family Farming; Agroecosystems; Empirical
With a symbolic cultural, social, economic and environmental value, the açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), Is present in lowland forests and with less density in upland areas, which has gained notoriety in the national and international market, since of 1990, with the valorization of the fruit, as a functional food, conquering new consumers. With a promising and heated market, it led to a growing demand, reflected in the significant intensification, of the açaizais managed in lowland (NOGUEIRA, 2005) and in the expansion in terra firma areas. In this context, this research directed its evaluations in the production of açaí planted (terra firma) and managed (lowland) in the Northeast of Pará, in the municipalities of Capitão Poço and Igarapé Miri, highlighting the themes of expansion, management and sustainability in land areas firm and floodplain. Aiming to identify and characterize the production of açaí the areas planted on dry land and managed by floodplain from a perceptive conception of family farmers on the planted areas, empirical management experiments and that of sustainability indicators. From a qualitative approach. The research showed that the family farmers of Capitão Poço, incorporated the culture of açaí into the productive process, with 32% of planted area; Experiments are in a constant process of composition of knowledge, with the adoption of different management plots in the same area being the most replicated intervention (56%) and ensuring the protection of the floodplain ecosystem. Perceptions about sustainability are relevant to the current context of local açaí production, so the structuring of indicators that can be used to consider the sustainability of production has a favorable level of agreement.