Agronomic strategies for sustainable recovery of the cocoa chain in the southwestern Amazon

• Grant number: 24/00775-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Renato de Mello Prado
• Grantee: Edilaine Istéfani Franklin Traspadini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/10358-9 - Agronomic strategies for sustainable recovery of the cacao chain in the Southwest Amazon, AP.R

Abstract

Cocoa is one of the main products of the Amazon bioeconomy, domesticated more than 3 thousand years ago by pre-Columbian peoples, being used as food and medicine. The consumption of cocoa products with a high content of flavonols and procyanidins reduces the tendency of platelets to aggregate and, therefore, the formation of clots. Phenolic compounds are products of secondary plant metabolism, synthesized through two main primary pathways: the shikimate pathway and the acetate pathway. However, in its region of origin, cocoa cultivation is in a technologically outdated situation, losing economic importance to other agricultural crops that act as strong vectors of local deforestation, such as beef cattle farming and grain cultivation. In this context, the objective of this proposal will be to evaluate current cultivation conditions in order to identify bottlenecks and available technologies to enable the recovery and strengthening of the cocoa production chain, improving its competitiveness compared to other producing regions, also facing vectors of deforestation. To this end, this proposal aims to evaluate the nutritional and pharmacological value of cocoa selected in the region, compare its agronomic potential with hybrids and clones used in other regions of the country, and evaluate the technical viability, nutritional status and soil-limiting factors of crops in Rondônia, comparing them with crops in Pará. In the end, it will be possible to indicate public policies and accessible technologies for the recovery of cocoa farming in its center of origin