Differential dimensions of peasant engagement in babassu palm nut extraction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36920/esa-v30-2_04Keywords:
agricultural census, traditional communities, gender, sociobiodiversityAbstract
Recent official statistics reveal drastic reductions in the production of babassu palm nuts and in the numbers of the workers known as babassu nut breakers, who supply one of Brazil’s most important products of sociobiodiversity to an industry that currently faces a pronounced crisis. Accurate estimates of the population affected by this crisis are key for assessing economic and social impacts. This article examines different dimensions of engagement in babassu extractivism, discusses complementary hypotheses to understand the decrease in this activity, and outlines methodology to estimate current levels in order to improve policies for strengthening the regional economy, local livelihoods, and activities by social movements. Some 62,000 people in 50,000 households break babassu palm nuts in 356 municipalities; of these, approximately 40,000 extractivists in 32,000 households sell the resulting nut kernels, a figure obtained by projecting adjusted rates of engagement in this activity determined through field surveys in Maranhão’s Mearim Valley, the region of Brazil with the highest babassu palm production.
elocation-id: e2230204
Received: Apr.30.2022 • Accepted: Sep.16.2022 • Published: Oct.6.2022
Original article / Double blind peer review / Open access
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