Co-production of knowledge to enhance and propose innovations to the Juçara Palm Tree Conservation Program in the state of São Paulo.

• Grant number: 23/10218-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research in Public Policies
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Bruno Peregrina Puga
• Grantee: Bruno Peregrina Puga
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IP&D). Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alessandra Lopes de Oliveira ; Carolina Kors tiberio ; Carolina Simões Galvanese ; Christianne Elisabete da Costa Rodrigues ; Cynthia Ditchfield ; Fabiana Felix do Amaral e Silva ; Fábio Grigoletto ; Marta Mitsui Kushida
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/08587-5 - Mapping of public policies and economic initiatives affecting the socio-biodiversity chain of Palmeira Juçara., BP.TT; 24/06568-3 - Mapping and systematization of experiences with the use of production chains for the conservation of biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest, BP.TT

Abstract

The Juçara Palm Conservation Program (Pró-Juçara) is a public policy that has been in place since 2021, executed by the Forest Foundation, and its main objective is to increase the population of the juçara palm (Euterpe edulis) in the Conservation Units (CUs) of the state of São Paulo. Pró-Juçara consists of two main strategies: (i) the purchase of seeds provided by small farmers for repopulating the integral protection CUs, and (ii) payment for environmental services to promote the planting of juçara palm in territories of traditional communities located in sustainable use CUs and around State Parks.Thus, Pró-Juçara seeks to reconcile the environmental demand to remove the juçara palm from the list of endangered species with the social demand for economic valorization of the standing palm tree, through the sustainable exploitation of its fruits instead of simply extracting the heart of palm.However, there are significant gaps in the effectiveness of the Program regarding the economic use of juçara fruit pulp, which is considered the main byproduct to be commercialized by farmers. This is because the pulp market is still incipient in the state of São Paulo, and farmers face multifaceted challenges in its production, distribution, and value addition, including structural, institutional, organizational, and technical knowledge limitations.Considering this, the Forest Foundation deems it indispensable to redesign Pró-Juçara to strengthen a better connection between the environmental and social aspects of the Program, by fostering the sustainable exploitation of the fruits. Hence, this project falls under the category of analysis and redesign of an ongoing policy, aiming to produce more robust information about the challenges and opportunities related to consolidating the juçara pulp supply chain in the São Paulo territories covered by the Program.This will be accomplished through systematic research efforts that involve diagnosing the current situation of the supply chain in these territories and analyzing the conditions and possibilities for interventions and public investments directed towards the agro-industrial processing of juçara pulp. Embracing a co-production approach to knowledge and engaging the interested public, including public managers, plant extractors, researchers, and representatives from local cooperatives and associations, the project aims to encompass the various existing knowledge about the supply chain to enhance the ongoing public policy and develop an innovation proposal by establishing guidelines for the implementation and adaptation of juçara palm fruit processing units in two São Paulo territories covered by the Program: the Ribeira Valley and the Paraíba Valley/North Coast. (AU)