Panorama e tendências socioeconômica e ambiental da cafeicultura sombreada agroflorestal no Maciço de Baturité - Ceará – Brasil

Abstract

Ceará has the potential to cultivate shaded coffee in agroforestry, which is a significant action for both environmental conservation and financial returns. Regardless, there has been a low interest in the activity, particularly among producers whose primary income is agriculture. The purpose of this study is to analyze coffee production in Ceará, particularly in the Maciço de Baturité region, by examining the socialeconomic and the environmental trends of this activity. Analysis was conducted through a case study methodology that utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods. Bibliographic analysis, semi-structured interviews with key actors, and questionnaire applications were conducted in the municipalities of Aratuba, Baturité, Guaramiranga, Mulungu, and Pacoti, located in Maciço de Baturité-Ceará, during the period 2020-2023. The results indicate that national modernization programs were implemented in the region, resulting in a decrease in coffee production, income losses for producers, and a decrease in the economic representation of coffee in Ceará. This scenario led to the need for productive reorganization, favoring the emergence of associations and cooperatives in the 1990s and early 2000s.