Cocoa Farming Forum Strengthens Production and Sustainable Development
This Friday (27), cocoa producers from Xingu and other regions have a schedule with specialists from public and private institutions
With the participation of more than 200 producers, the Cocoa Farming Forum of Transamazon and Xingu was opened on the morning of this Friday (27). The event is part of the official technical program of the International Cocoa and Chocolate Festival – Chocolat Xingu, which takes place until next Sunday (29) at the Events Center of the municipality of Altamira, in southwestern Pará.
Throughout the day, this Friday, the Cocoa Farming Forum will address topics such as the cultivation of Pará cocoa, then and now; also about moniliasis, (a disease that affects cocoa fruits); and about the importance of international missions for the development of cocoa farming in Pará, among other topics scheduled in the program.
The official opening of the Forum took place on the night of this Thursday (26) with the participation of representatives from public institutions and parliamentarians. The head of the Secretariat of Agricultural Development and Fishing (Sedap), Giovanni Queiroz, made a public statement aimed especially at the farmers working with the fruit.
The manager highlighted that Sedap develops projects for improving the producer's work that impact income generation. Giovanni Queiroz spoke about partnerships with entities such as the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of Pará (Faepa) and how Ateg Mais Cacau, carried out by the National Rural Learning System (Senar), provides farmers with technical assistance and knowledge for improving production.
“We want to improve what already exists and encourage the planting of new areas. Pará is the only state in Brazil that has both productive arrangements formed by açaí and cocoa. We produce 912 kilograms of cocoa per hectare. That’s a lot. But we want to reach 2,000 per hectare. That’s why we want to invest in our producers, strengthen and make new partnerships,” said the Sedap manager.
The opening of the program also included the participation of Mayor Loredan Mello, accompanied by federal deputy José Priante, who represented the Chamber of Federal Deputies. Also addressing the producers were the director of traditional communities of the State Secretariat of Family Agriculture (Seaf), Anderson Serra, and the superintendent of the Executive Commission of the Cocoa Farming Plan (Ceplac), Raul Guimarães.
The mayor of Altamira, Loredan de Andrade Mello emphasized: "This event is only possible because of your courage (cocoa producers) to produce, even with so much adversity. We will visit all the stands tonight, we will thank the participation and effort of each producer who is at this event,” he said.
In addition to Sedap, other state agencies participate in the Forum, such as the Secretariat of Family Agriculture (Seaf), the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company (Emater), and the Agricultural Defense Agency of Pará (Adepará).
The event also has the partnership of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam) and the support of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (Ufra), the Faepa/Senar System, the Secretariat of Family Agriculture of Pará, Ceplac, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and the Federal Government.
The Cocoa Farming Forum continues this Friday afternoon with the presentation and mediation of topics such as verticalization in Cocoa Farming: challenges and opportunities; fermentation of cocoa beans type 1 and type 2, among others.
