Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The objective of this research was to characterize consumers and non-consumers of organic food in terms of sociodemographic and behavioral aspects, identifying the variables that most affect consumption. This is a qualitative, cross-sectional descriptive study, with a non-probabilistic convenience sample. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was used, which was applied to people aged 18 years or over, consumers of organic or non-organic foods, living in Brazil, who had access to e-mail or social networks; carried out from February to April 2021. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and association statistical techniques. A total of 3,342 people participated in the survey, 2,546 (76%) consumers of organic food and 796 (24%) non-consumers. Being a consumer or not of organic food showed a significant relationship with the variables age group, marital status, number of children, family income, responsible for purchases and in relation to knowing its concept. The biggest motivations for consumption were the affordable price and health, with the highest indication as a limitation, the high price. Both consumers and non-consumers of organic foods are unaware of its concept, with price being the most relevant aspect for its acquisition. Knowledge of these aspects can contribute to the improvement of public policies aimed at this market niche.

Community urban gardens are a type of urban agriculture. They provide spaces for social interaction and increase in life quality of maintainers and consumers. This study implements a community garden in Vila Buritis II, Planaltina, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. The population of Planaltina has low purchasing power and high indices of social vulnerability. The implementation of the vegetable garden resulted from a partnership between agroecology students from the Federal Institute of Brasília, the local community, and the government. The work relied on donations, reuse of materials, and volunteer labor. Educational actions in the neighborhood approached the relationship between production in the garden and food choices, with a focus on healthy eating, consumption of fresh food, and reduction of industrialized items. The building of the vegetable garden converted an idle area, with a history of accumulating garbage and rubble, into a productive space for social coexistence and leisure. Twenty-seven edible species and an undefined number of ornamental plants were planted. Between 30 and 40 residents visit the space regularly and collect food for their daily meals. However, the maintenance and increase of garden productivity still need technical assistance and resources.

The research consisted in identifying the post-harvest losses of tomato cultivars 'Longa Vida' and 'Cajá' commercialized in Ceasa-Ceara, identifying the main difficulties of their commercialization. The actions were evaluated in two stages: Interviews with 50 licensees who sell tomatoes; Evaluation of the main losses of tomato on benches and/or boxes. The fruits, before commercialization, were subjected to sampling analysis containing 899.4 kg in the “Initial Quality” sample, to determine the main damages and 191.8 kg in the “Discard” sample, to determine the real loss of the product. Subsequently, the percentage and average of fruits at different stages of maturation (green, horticultural maturity and fully ripe) were calculated, with mechanical and physiological injuries, phytopathological diseases, pest attack and absence of damage. The cultivar Longa Vida is the most commercialized at Ceasa (70%). Transport is carried out in open trucks (80%) and storage is on benches and/or boxes (86%). For tomato marketing, plastic packaging is used (98%), and incorrect handling is the main factor that makes marketing difficult (32%). In the 'Initial Quality' sampling, 68.99% of the cultivars presented horticultural maturity (47 kg). 18.07% of the most frequent injuries are mechanical (12 kg) and 10.55% to physiological damage (7 kg). Of the total “discard” sampling, about 60.58% (8 kg) of the fruits showed horticultural maturity and 36.43% showed damage due to mechanical injury (48 kg) and 21.90% damage due to pest attack (2.9 kg). Post-harvest losses can be reduced with the implementation and use of refrigerated chambers.

The search for sustainable environmental processes is primordial for the world and, in semi-arid regions where freshwater resources are scarce, the search for non-conventional alternatives for water use should be intensified. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate, under the legal aspects of agricultural reuse and soil quality, the use of treated graywater as a water source for acerola plants cultivated in the Brazilian semiarid region. The study was conducted in the rural area of Juazeiro/Bahia with treated graywater from a family adapted biofilter composed of layers of sawdust, coarse sand, gravel and pebbles. Monthly microbiological and physical-chemical analyses of the graywater and soil analyses were performed. It is concluded that there is a diversity of parameters and limit values that makes the interpretation and legal framework of graywater for irrigation difficult, with no single regulation. The greywater promoted an improvement in the chemical quality of the soil, with a decrease in the availability of Al and an increase in the Ca, Mg and P contents. The reuse of greywater for irrigation met the environmental and sustainability criteria by not being discharged directly into the soil and by being used for a noble purpose such as the irrigation of agricultural crops. However, it is necessary to have a legal regulatory unification at the national level, which establishes standards and guidelines for the practice of graywater reuse.

The aim of this study was to assess the benefits observed after the implementation of a school garden in an Association that serves people with disabilities in the municipality of Paiçandu/PR. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that analysed the perceptions of individuals involved with the garden project, which were collected from teachers of the institution, parents of enrolled students and company employees who worked on the project. Among the results, different benefits of the garden could be observed, especially concerning social, pedagogical, food and environmental aspects. Positive reports were observed from parents and teachers, particularly related to the social and pedagogical areas. The role of social and environmental transformation of the company involved in the project is also highlighted.

Agroecological production is a comprehensive framework for sustainable use of biodiversity that also supports productivity and resilience. Farmers benefit from diversified systems through increased economic resilience, reduced dependence on agricultural inputs. Agroecological models in the sustainable agriculture strand are characterized into organic; organic; biodynamic; and permaculture farming, households are vital for transition to more sustainable models of agriculture. The present work aimed at describing the agro-ecological model of the family sector, for which, with recourse to random sampling, surveys were carried out among 200 households in the communities of the district of Pemba-Metuge in the localities of Metuge-sede (Nacuta) and Mieze, of the district of Gondola in the localities of Gondola sede and Inchope on the traditional and/or local knowledge of the forms of production. Maize was the main crop in all areas (100%), cassava is grown more in Nacuta (94%), Gondola (84%), Inchope (65%) and Mieze (44%). Rainfed agriculture was the type of crop most used by households with frequencies of 98% (Mieze), 94% (Nacuta), 93% (Inchope), with the most frequent intercropping (29.40%) consisting of maize, cassava and groundnut. The productive characteristics of the communities evidenced the non-use of any agricultural supplements resembling the organic production model.

Basella alba L. (Malabar spinach) is a non-conventional food plant (PANC) with high nutritional value and economic potential. Light is a critical factor in plant growth, acting directly on the photosynthetic process. The photoselective meshes combine the physical protection of plants with the selective filtering of solar radiation to promote physiological responses. This work evaluates the growth of B. alba under different light environments. The experiment occurred in a greenhouse at the Center for Agrarian, Environmental and Biological Sciences of the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia in a completely randomized design with plots comprising one useful plant and five replications. The plants were grown in three light environments: red ChromatiNet mesh, aluminet-thermo reflective mesh (both with 50% irradiance), and under full sun. The red mesh increased the root dry matter mass and stem diameter. The aluminet mesh increased the average number of leaves by about 50% compared to the plants cultivated under full sun. The results show that the cultivation of B. alba in different light environments promotes morphophysiological changes with positive increments in growth.

Yucca starch (Manihot esculenta Crantz) plays several important roles in agroecological agriculture in the tropics. It is an inexpensive source of carbohydrates of high nutritional quality and easily accessible, if preserved and stored. The process of starch artisanal extraction is carried out in Latin America in a rudimentary and impractical way, with water and raw material wasted, which generates losses and ecological problems. This study shows how a prototype of a technological process (Matilda v1.0) for the artisan extraction of yucca starch was designed, built, and optimized. The optimization was performed using the response surface methodology, and the experimental design is a Box-Wilson 23 full factorial central composite, uniformly rotated and orthogonally blocked per day. Around 60 kg of starch for 200 kg yucca on a working day was obtained. The estimated starch yield was 31.83%, within a confidence interval of (30.24-32.97%) and a prediction interval of (27.98-35.23%). This yield was higher than that reported for conventional artisanal extraction. Water use was about 0.3 L kg-1 yucca, significantly lower than in artisanal productions. The process developed would generate a lower impact on the environment and would allow small producers to empower themselves with sustainable technologies.

The increase in the consumption of ready-to-eat foods has also increased the generation of agro-industrial waste. The organic matter present in these residues causes damage to the environment when they are improperly disposed of. Composting is a technology that uses these residues to obtain a sustainable material that can be used as a biofertilizer, without harming the environment. The objective was to collect and analyze data related to composting as a technology capable of transforming agro-industrial waste into organic fertilizer. For this, keywords were defined and a survey of information in the SciELO database was carried out. The keyword [composting AND (“agro-industrial waste” OR “agro-industrial waste”)], in English, obtained the best representation and refinement. Annual evolution data were observed between 2007 and 2020, with the number of publications fluctuating over the period. Considering the 13 selected scientific articles, a total of 4 countries were highlighted as the headquarters of the research executing institutions, namely: Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Portugal. The thematic area “Agrarian Sciences” and the journal “Engenharia Agrícola” have the largest number of publications in their respective groups. There was no relationship between the number of publications of scientific articles and the impact factor presented by the journal. The relevance of the control of humidity, aeration, temperature, pH, carbon and nitrogen ratio (C:N) and granulometry was verified. Therefore, composting is a potential technology to transform agro-industrial waste into organic fertilizer.

The Brazilian semi-arid region has water restrictions, which justifies the cultivation of cowpea associated with sustainable soil management practices. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the water demand and growth of cowpea under doses of sheep manure in the Cariri region of Paraíba. The experiment was carried out in the municipality of Soledade, Paraíba, using a completely randomized design, testing six doses of sheep manure (D1 = 0%, D2 = 5%, D3 = 10%, D4 = 15%, D5 = 20% and D6 = 25%, m/m) and 4 repetitions, totaling 24 experimental units. Water demand was determined during cultivation and at 10 and 22 days after sowing, the length of the main branch was measured, the leaf area estimated and the root, shoot and total dry mass determined. It was verified that doses of sheep manure increase the water demand and the growth of cowpea in the Cariri region of Paraíba, being recommended the application of a dose of 13.51±1.98% of sheep manure.