A cadeia produtiva do açafrão como alternativa para a agricultura de Mara Rosa (GO)

Abstract

The research that generated this dissertation aimed to carry out a descriptive evaluation of the productive cluster of saffron (tumeric or Curcuma Longa L) in the Brazilian municipality of Mara Rosa (State of Goiás). The purpose was to understand, as a central research question, which factors were determinant for this municipality to become the largest saffron production hub on the state's land. And as a secondary issue, to map the context of saffron production and its production chain as a complex and real whole, which involves several actors and links around the activity, which are interconnected, and typify the production chain of Mara Rosa saffron. The conception was adopted that the productive clusters and the actions of the economic, political and social agents involved in this process are focused on a specific economic activity that encourages the collective relations between the actors, in a given location, the starting point being the social organization, especially of rural producers, in a cooperative enterprise. The following hypotheses guided the research: 1) both the productive agglomeration installed in the Northern Region of Goiás, mainly in Mara Rosa, and the original proposal for the establishment of a productive arrangement have relevance in the state's saffron offer; and 2) despite the efforts of public and private institutions in order to articulate and consolidate the production chain and the APL, there are still aspects to be developed so that the original proposal is effectively leveraged. Taking the historical trajectory of this saffron productive cluster, in Mara Rosa (GO), as a starting point, we sought to understand how this municipality has been organizing itself over the years and becoming known as the “capital of saffron”. In addition, we sought to reach the perception of a portion of saffron producers and representatives of public and private institutions regarding the phenomenon that occurred in the municipality, as well as their conceptions concerning participation in the Cooperative and the actions that were developed in order to structure and subsidize the production chain. As for methodological procedures, the study consisted of a qualitative research of exploratory nature, using a thorough bibliographic review, as well as secondary data collection through research institutions, and primary data gathered by means of semi-structured interviews. The case study was also adopted, so that real situations in the productive cluster of Mara Rosa could be analyzed