Processo de certificação orgânica na região metropolitana de Santarém, Pará
Abstract
This research aimed to analyze the organic certification process of family production units in
the metropolitan region of Santarém, Pará. Organic food production has become increasingly
important for the world economy. The field research was carried out in the metropolitan
region of Santarém. The interlocutors were organic farmers from the Tapajós Organic
Association, inspection and technical guidance technicians and representatives of the Lower
Amazon Organic Committee - CTPorg-BAM. For data collection, open interviews were
conducted covering issues relevant to the studied topic and consultation of the documentary
collection on organic agriculture in the metropolitan region of Santarém. The collected data
were systematized and submitted to qualitative analysis, using the technique of content
analysis and descriptive analysis. The results showed that the first actions to create the organic
group in the metropolitan region of Santarém started in 2010, however, without success. In
2011, a new attempt to form the group was successful, when the process of organizing
farmers began. Thus, certified organic production in the metropolitan region of Santarém is
the result of actions by a network of social actors that have articulated themselves around the
promotion of organic agriculture. This network, institutionalized through the Thematic
Commission on Organic Production in the Lower Amazon - CTPOrg-BAM, has acted
through various actions and strategies aimed at strengthening and expanding the practice of
organic agriculture in the region, such as holding fairs, creating of Social Control Bodies -
OCS and creation of the Tapajós Orgânico Association, currently envisioning the creation of a
Participative Conformity Assessment Body - Opac. It was concluded that the organic
certification process in the metropolitan region of Santarém is constituted by the articulation
of a network of actors. It was possible to observe the organization of this network and the
different groups formed and active within it, as well as their contributions and actions to
consolidate this organic production pole. It is observed that the network's performance
continues on a continuous basis, having in its trajectory the construction of CPOrg-BAM as a
decentralization strategy for CPOrg-PA; the creation of the OCSs to regulate and guarantee
the organic quality of the products sold, the creation of the Tapajós Orgânico Association,
culminating in the social organization of the organic farmers of the OCSs, favoring the
articulation of these farmers with other institutions to form partnerships. For farmers, the
attempt to create Opac is a solution to the yearnings for improvements in the organic
production chain, allowing access to new markets and, consequently, at different prices,
which will directly reflect on family income. Finally, it is possible to verify that the barriers to
growth of organic agriculture in the region could be solved through public policies, as well as,
if the existing public policies were really fulfilled and accessed by all. In this context, it is
concluded that the formation of networks for the promotion of organic agriculture is of
fundamental importance to strengthen and promote the construction, maintenance and
expansion of organic agriculture in Santarém and region.
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