Manejo e conservação de sementes tradicionais na Comunidade de São José, Benjamin Constant, Amazonas

Abstract

The management and conservation of traditional seeds has been a practice over time, guaranteeing the availability of natural genetic resources and constituting an important strategy for the food security of family farmers. This study aimed to analyse the traditional seed management and conservation strategies adopted by family farmers in the community of São José, in the municipality of Benjamin Constant, Amazonas, i) characterise the socio-economic profile of farmers in the São José communities, ii) identify the species that are cultivated in family agro-ecosystems, iii) describe the traditional seed management and conservation strategies used by family farmers. In the field research, the methodological approach was qualitative-quantitative, the research design was case study, and the research was descriptive-explanatory in nature by collecting information on site. Analysing the socio-economic profile of family farmers in the São José community was a parameter considered necessary in this work in order to understand the social organisation of the residents of this community, and how their relationship with the environment and with plants, especially agricultural species, has contributed to the conservation of genetic resources in situ. In the agro-ecosystems of the residents of the São José community, 19 agricultural species were identified that are produced by the family units. The following species were listed as the food and economic base of the families in the São José community. Over the years, farmers in the São José community have preserved various local agricultural species through cognitive processes and traditional seed and propagule management and conservation strategies. These materials are conserved on site, i.e. in situ, through the knowledge passed down from generation to generation and through the family farmer's life experience.