Emater encourages sustainable planting of black pepper and pitaya in Augusto Corrêa
The goal is to structure commercial planting and diversify the food and income sources for families through guided multiplication in collective access nurseries.
Farmers residing along the PA-462 highway, in Augusto Corrêa, in the Rio Caeté, have just received from the local office of the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Pará (Emater) seeds of pitaya and cuttings of gliricidia that serve as living tutors for black pepper, providing support for the climbing plant, and as a live fence. The goal is to structure commercial planting and diversify food and income sources for local families through guided multiplication in collective access nurseries.
A total of 15 seeds and 80 cuttings were provided, sourced from the Agroecological Training Center, Technological Innovation, and Applied Research of Northeast Pará (UDB) of Emater, located in Bragança, the regional hub. A portion was donated to the Municipal Secretary of Agriculture (Semag).
With a tradition in producing “washed flour” from cassava cultivation, some of the sixteen families from the communities Emboraizinho, Maranhãozinho, and Porto Velho that directly benefit are already working with black pepper. As for pitaya, it is a novelty. The properties range from five to 25 hectares.
“Pitaya is an interesting option for personal consumption, even due to its medicinal characteristics, and also for the market, because the price is good,” evaluates Emater agronomist Paulo Roberto Pereira. According to the agency's specialists, fruiting is expected to occur in a year and a half.
Regarding gliricidia, the volume multiplied for distribution is expected in two years. “Gliricidia itself is a strategic element for sustainable development. In practice, this introduction results in ecological soil use and environmental management of the enterprise,” summarizes the professional.
Text by Aline Miranda
