Innovation and family farming in rural Amazonia: the case of cassava in Acre

Abstract

The use of new technologies for increased production in the field is configured as a primary issue for the economic viability of rural smallholders in the Amazon region, especially those producing cassava in the state of Acre, one of the main and most important crops produced in the State. In this sense, the objective is through the present study, discuss the use of technologies in cassava production in the state of Acre, to analyze the technical and economic coefficients of cassava production in the state, discussing alternatives to overcome the barriers to a better economic performance of that culture. To this end, we work with the methodology of the research project entitled "Socioeconomic Analysis of Rural Family Production Systems in Acre" - ASPF, who developed a specific methodology for this type of production, from field surveys conducted in the state concerned. The results indicate that cassava production in Acre suffers from lack suitable for employment in cassava, evidenced by low productivity and high costs of production technologies which can be corrected with appropriate policy to strengthen the sector.