This work investigates the extraction process of the bacuri fruit as one of the activities of
small farming agriculture in selected municipal districts of Northeastern Pará State and of
Marajó Island, considering its potential growth as a product for agroindustry and in the
recovery of degraded areas in the Eastern Amazon. The handling systems and the description
of the practices adopted by the farmers were identified. This study is part of the Bacuri
Project of Embrapa Eastern Amazon, financed by the State Fund Support for Scientific
Research and Technology (Funtec), of the extinct Special Secretary of Science, Technology
and Environment of Pará State (Sectam), of the Amazon Bank and of the Pilot Program for
the Protection of the Tropical Forests of Brazil (PPG7). The methodology used in this study
involved interviews with 108 producers, by means of the application of a questionnaire,
interviews with the people involved in the commercialization process, communities' leaders
and the direct observation of the areas of occurrence. The questions in the questionnaire
aimed to identify the composition of the family, of the land use, of the characteristics of the
bacuri trees and of the typology and of the farmers' activities. In relationship to the
management of native bacuri trees, the handling techniques that are adopted, the flowering
season, the pollination agents, the productivity, the types, size and durability of the fruits, the
gathering process, the transportation and commercialization of the fruits and of the pulp, the
labor allocation in the gathering of the fruits, the improvement of the pulp, and the revenue of
the pulp were described. It was verified that, even in the absence of research results on the
management systems of bacuri trees, the producers tend to develop technological solutions in
order to reach the foreseen objectives. The management system constitutes an intermediate
phase between pure extractions for rational planting. The growth of the market for bacuri
fruits is exercising an influence in the conservation of the bacuri trees and in the development
of handling techniques that seek to increase production. Nine types of handling techniques
adopted by the small farmers were also identified in the interviews. It is expected that, with
the adoption of more efficient management systems, it will be possible to increase the
productivity of native bacuri trees – that presently varies from 0.5 to l.5 tree/hectare – to 100
trees/hectare, with appropriate spacing of 10m x 10m to increase the productivity of land and
labor, thus allowing to pick larger amounts of fruit in less time. This also represents an
alternative for the recovery of degraded areas with the use of secondary vegetation (capoeira),
as well as a source of income and employment for the small farmers of Northeastern Pará
State and of Marajó Island, with the support of available credit lines.
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