According to Agência Brasil, the production of Brazil nuts by the Amazon Paiter Suruí, Cinta Larga and Sakyrabiat indigenous communities in the Cacoal region of Rondônia could reach 300 tons in 2019. That is the largest harvest in recent years, setting a new record.
The record estimate is due to new areas of explored Brazil nuts in the Amazon, as well as the use of machinery that facilitates collection.
For Elisângela Suruí, coordinator of the Coopaiter indigenous cooperative, the community’s goal now is gradually to reduce intermediaries and offer a product with more competitive prices and greater added cultural value.
“With our own production, we will add values, a better value. And also value the difficulty that the producer has to seek this nut in the forest, all the work he has, that often the value does not pay with these middlemen, ”said Elisângela.
Support
The National Indian Foundation (Funai) in Cacoal has been helping the indigenous people to collect the machinery. As explained by the unit’s coordinator, Ricardo Prado: “We have vehicles, tractors and three trucks that transport them to the commercial centers. We also offer tools: machetes, tarpaulins, sacaria, and also, in some cases, specific for these natives”.
For this year, in addition to supplying nuts to companies in Rondônia’s Amazon municipalities and participating in food acquisition programs, the Indians intend to start marketing the Brazil nuts in the states of Pará and Minas Gerais.
The Brazil Nuts
Locally known as “Castanha do Pará”, the Brazil Nuts is a rich seed known to be good for health and commonly appreciated in Brazil and abroad.
