Institutions seek improvements to the nut production chain in the Amazon

Tefe (AM) – Brazil nuts are of great importance for the bioeconomy in Amazonas, a state that is the largest national producer. To identify demands and propose solutions to strengthen this production chain, the 1st Workshop Production Chains in Amazonas was held, focused on the Brazil nut chain, in the municipality of Tefé, on the 9th and 10th of June. The event brought together different segments involved in this sector in order to prospect demands to support planning actions and subsidize public policies for this Amazonian product.

Participants came from five municipalities in the middle Solimões region – Tefé, Nhamundá, Alvarães, Coari and Amaturá, in addition to technicians from the capital Manaus. Extractivist farmers, representatives of associations, entrepreneurs and technicians from private and governmental institutions in the primary sector took part to discuss and propose improvements to the sector.

This is the third event in a series that includes 11 productive chains chosen as priorities in the state of Amazonas and which are being addressed in the 1st Workshop Productive Chains in Amazonas, which is carried out in partnership with the Secretary of State for Rural Production (Sepror) , Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants in the Amazon (Abrasel-AM).

With this work, based on the demands identified from different segments of the production chain, the proposal is to use this information as a subsidy for the institutions involved to work on strategic planning, in order to guide actions in agricultural research, technical assistance, the market and in territorial development.

In addition to this edition on nuts, meetings have already been held focused on the banana and cupuaçu chains, as part of the 1st Workshop on Productive Chains in Amazonas. The next edition of the event will address the pineapple culture, on the 22nd and 23rd of June, and will be held in the municipality of Itacoatiara. The other events will be about livestock, açaí, citrus, guarana, cassava, vegetable crops and fish farming.

Amazonas largest national producer of chestnut

Embrapa Western Amazon researcher Roberval Lima points out that the Brazil nut is of great importance for the bioeconomy in the Amazon, as the state of Amazonas is the main national producer with around 30,000 tons per year. This production, as explained by the researcher, currently comes mostly – 97% – from extractivism and another 3% comes from cultivation systems.

Roberval points out that to strengthen this chain, in addition to production aspects, it is also necessary to consider processing, commercialization, among other issues. He recalls that although Brazil is the world’s largest producer, Bolivia is the largest exporter and for that reason factors such as consumption and Brazilian trade barriers to export the product influence.

The researcher comments that the contact with the producers and sectors involved in the production chain, provided by the workshop, will contribute even more to the alignment of research with the productive sector, aiming to respond to the needs in the development of new knowledge and technologies.

The Deputy Executive Secretary for Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Policy at Sepror, Airton Schneider, highlights “Brazil nuts are one of the main sources of income for communities in the Amazon region, in addition to being a highly valued product in the market and important for economic development, generating jobs and income in the countryside.”.

On the first day of the event, participants discussed improvements and demands for the sector, in addition to receiving information on technological innovations for Brazil nuts. During the program in Tefé, on the 9th, the main lines of research and technologies available in Amazonas were presented by Embrapa Western Amazon analyst, Sumara Ennes. Embrapa researcher Roberval Lima presented the lecture “Embrapa Technologies for the Chestnut Production Chain”. Professionals from the Acariquara Institute conducted the methodology for exchanging experiences and raising demands for Value Chain Promotion.

On the second day of the event, the 10th, a technical visit was made to a chestnut processing agroindustry located in the municipality of Tefé, Agropecuária Jutica, where groups of rural producers, businessmen and government technicians exchanged experiences and defined actions to strengthen the sector , such as improvement in technical assistance, support to producers to formalize the sale of the product, among other actions to strengthen the production chain.

*With advisory information

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