An action plan aimed at strengthening the coffee production chain was presented last week in the Juruá Valley (AC). The region is one of the main agricultural centers for coffee growing in the Amazon.
The document was presented during a seminar that brought together rural producers, public and private institutions, technicians and researchers. Strategies to promote production, marketing and access to credit were discussed, with a focus on strengthening the implementation of the state policy to encourage the production of robusta coffee in Acre.
One of the challenges identified was the lack of access to rural credit. To this end, financial institutions and cooperatives were also present to present alternatives to solve this challenge.
“We’re in a region where inputs are more expensive, and when producers don’t have their environmental and land rights in order, access to credit becomes a major challenge,” explains Jarlene Gomes, a researcher at IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute).
“The availability of data on the growth of coffee growing in our region and the presence of cooperatives and competent bodies is fundamental to making the production of these crops viable for farmers. This allows everything to be more complete and assertive,” commented Maria Sena, an agronomist from the state’s Municipal Department of Agriculture and a participant in the seminar.
The seminar covered strategies aimed at establishing coffee plantations based on economic, commercial and logistical information that guides better planning of the production chain, based on actions to recover degraded areas, respecting the cultural, environmental and socio-economic aspects of the region. Its production contributes to the productive and sustainable recovery of these areas and represents one of the main sources of income for local family farmers.
“The strong point of this seminar was to show public institutions, academia, rural producers, consultancies and banks that robust coffee from the Amazon has enormous potential in the region. Paying attention to economic indicators, production costs and the marketing of coffee is fundamental for producers to achieve good results in their crops, improve their income and quality of life,” says Aliedson Ferreira, a researcher at IPAM.
Productive Recovery of Resilient Landscapes in the State of Acre
The initiative is part of the Productive Recovery of Resilient Landscapes in the State of Acre project, carried out by IPAM in partnership with SEAGRI (Acre’s State Secretary of Agriculture).
With more than 200 producers receiving technical support, its aim is to strengthen the production chain in the region by connecting technical knowledge, partnerships and public programs aimed at sustainable development.
“The cooperation between IPAM and SEAGRI has strengthened technical assistance and guidance for coffee growers. The socio-economic survey carried out by IPAM in the Juruá region is fundamental for creating new public policies, expanding support for planting, harvesting and marketing coffee,” explains Marcos Pereira, head of SEAGRI in Cruzeiro do Sul.
“Public policies can support the structuring of the coffee production chain, making it more economically viable, especially for small producers. Rather than looking at a chain based on monoculture, the proposal values productive diversity integrated into the landscape. Thus, in the same area, the producer has the opportunity to cultivate different species, strengthening productive alternatives and promoting a more balanced use of the territory,” says Gomes.