Production and marketing aspects of bacuri fruits (Platonia insignis Mart.): A survival strategy for producers in Marajó, Eastern Amazon

Abstract

This research sought to evaluate the aspects of production, commercialization and management of bacuri trees carried out by small producers and collectors in the Marajó. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied to 52 small bacuri producers in the municipalities of Cachoeira do Arari, Ponta de Pedras, Salvaterra and Soure. The results show that 15 small producers manage native bacuri trees (28.8%), and 37 do not (71.2%). Therefore, there is a need to implement courses on the management of sprouting of native bacuri trees for small producers, in order to enhance the production of bacuri fruits and promote the processing of the pulp in the communities themselves instead of selling the fruit in natura. The results of this research showed that with the dissemination of bacuri tree management techniques it would be possible to triple the current production, since less than a third of the interviewed producers adopted this practice. By tripling the current managed area, it would be possible to transform degraded areas into bacuri orchards and generate income for part of the small producers and collectors in Marajó.