Aspectos socioeconômicos da cultura do umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arruda) nos municípios paraibanos de Olivedos e São Vicente do Seridó, no semiárido brasileiro.

Abstract

Spondias tuberosa Arruda is a plant native and endemic to Brazil, present mainly in the Caatinga Biome, where it is found in natural populations in the Brazilian semiarid region. Due to its great economic, social and ecological importance, it is a fundamental culture for the sustainable rural development of thousands of communities scattered in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Given this context, the objective of this work is to highlight the socioeconomic aspects of the culture of umbú (S. tuberosa Arruda), in the two main producing municipalities in the state of Paraíba: Olivedos and São Vicente do Seridó. To obtain this information, field visits were carried out and semi-structured interviews were applied with extractive family farmers, where all respondents signed the free and informed consent form. Informal conversations were also held with some intermediaries and agro-industrial entrepreneurs. In the municipality of Olivedos, 52 farmers were interviewed, 25 men (48.08%) and 27 women (51.92%). The age group of 40-49 years predominated, with 26.92% and a representative portion of the interviewees (42.30%), have only incomplete primary education and only 4 (7.69%) declared themselves to belong to the group ethnic quilombola. The average income from the production and sale of umbú predominates in the range below 1 minimum wage (65.38%). The umbú harvest period in this municipality is concentrated between the months of February, March and April. Rural properties had an average size of 15.58 hectares, with an average of 16.6 umbú plants per property. In the rural properties, 34.61% of the interviewees mentioned having at least two people employed/contracted, to help with the handling and harvesting of fruits, with an approximate employability of 2.28 jobs/property. In commercial relations with intermediaries, there are no contracts for the purchase and sale of fruits. Most production is destined for the regional market (76.92%). In the municipality of São Vicente do Seridó, 49 farmers were interviewed, 26 men (53.06%) and 23 women (46.94%). The age group of 50-59 years predominated, with 28.57% and a representative portion of the interviewees (63.26%), have incomplete primary education and only 5 (10.21%) declared themselves to belong to the ethnic group indigenous. The average income, with the production and sale of umbú, predominates in the range below 1 minimum wage (77.55%). The umbú harvest period in this municipality is concentrated between the months of January, February and March. In the region, there are areas destined for agrarian reform settlements and rural properties, with an average size of 19.85 hectares, with an average of 13.85 umbú plants per property. In the properties, 28.57% of the interviewees mentioned having at least three people employed/contracted, to help with the management and harvesting of the fruits, with an approximate employability of 2.29 jobs/property. The intermediaries determine the point of harvesting the fruits, according to the destination and market requirements, being the main buyers of the production (85.71%), there are also no formal purchase and sale contracts. Most of the umbú production in the municipality of São Vicente do Seridó is destined for the regional market (81.63%). With the completion of this work, several demands of extractive family farmers in the umbú production chain were diagnosed, such as: specific lines of credit for the crop, training on agroindustrial management and processing, dissemination of new accesses and varieties of greater commercial value and industrial use. , expanding insertion in institutional programs and markets at municipal, state and federal level, as well as training and encouraging family farmers in beekeeping and beekeeping activities.