Submitted by Socorro Pontes (socorrop@ufersa.edu.br) on 2017-01-27T12:24:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RosimarySR_DISSERT.pdf: 2284825 bytes, checksum: 17c616301b65ad23a1b6d472f6ded777 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-27T12:24:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RosimarySR_DISSERT.pdf: 2284825 bytes, checksum: 17c616301b65ad23a1b6d472f6ded777 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aimed to analyze the productive chain of apiculture and its economic dynamization in Açu-Mossoro and Backland of Apodi territories in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. It was used a theoretical construction that involved the steps in all a process of the family farming and its integration in agroindustry and the consolidation of the productive chain of honey. In the method of the collect data of the research was made beyond of a census that includes all organizations that work with honey in the yar of 2011 represented by an apiarist in the local where work (co-operative, warehouse, associations or honey house) therefore, it was a study that used the comparative method of the apiculture chains in the two territories. This step was of fundamental importance for the investigation that had as support the application of a questionnaire for an audience of 63 key informants of each organization, counting as an analytical basis of variable used, it adopting procedures quantitative and qualitative. The study of the productive chain of apiculture in territories of Açu-Mossoró and Backland of Apodi made it possible the accompaniment of this activity with the purpose to know the mains barriers and challenges of the culture of the systemic form the allowed search solutions for raise the quality of the product in the decision making, commercialization and formulation of public policies. The research data prove that some institutions supported the apiarists, however their implemented actions, beyond of credits or technical assistance, still suffers of some problems as absence of measures of an assessment system and accompaniment in the sense of the organization from the production, involved all the infrastructure and prioritizing the quality of products, to get the products certification that still show to be a big obstacle for the commercialization. With the analysis in the sense to deepen the knowledge and with a schematic survey of apiculture, it can formulate important conclusions depicting apiarian activity in the two territories, including to detect that the infrastructure analyzed was one of the main causes of the difficulties for certification and commercialization, too, approached aspects social, economics, technological and environmental that allowed identify weakness and optimization of the activity, for to can direct relevant decisions in the agribusiness and that consequently stimulate the rulers to develop public policies directed to this kind of producer / Este estudo visou analisar a cadeia produtiva da apicultura e sua dinamização econômica nos Territórios Açu-Mossoró e Sertão do Apodi no estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Utilizou-se uma construção teórica que envolveu as etapas de todo um processo da agricultura familiar e sua integração na agroindústria e a consolidação da cadeia produtiva do mel. No método da coleta dos dados da pesquisa foi feito através de um censo que abrangeu todas as organizações que trabalhavam com mel no ano de 2011 representadas por um apicultor no local onde trabalhavam (cooperativa, entreposto, associações ou casa de mel) portanto, foi um estudo que utilizou o método comparativo das cadeias da apicultura nos dois territórios. Essa etapa foi de fundamental importância para a investigação que teve como suporte à aplicação de um questionário para o público 63 informantes chave de cada organização, contando com uma base analítica das variáveis utilizadas, adotando-se procedimentos qualitativos e quantitativos. O estudo da cadeia produtiva da apicultura nos territórios Açu - Mossoró e Sertão do Apodi possibilitou o acompanhamento dessa atividade com intuito de conhecer os principais entraves e desafios da cultura de forma sistêmica que permitiu buscar soluções para elevar a qualidade do produto na tomada de decisões, comercialização e formulações de políticas públicas. Os dados da pesquisa comprovam que algumas instituições apoiaram os apicultores, porém suas ações implementadas, através de credito ou assistência técnica, ainda padece de alguns problemas como ausência de medidas de um sistema de avaliação e acompanhamento no sentido de organização desde a produção, envolvendo toda infraestrutura e priorizando a qualidade dos produtos, para conseguir a certificação dos produtos que ainda demonstra ser um grande entrave para a comercialização. Com a análise no sentido de aprofundar o conhecimento e com um levantamento esquemático da apicultura, pode-se formular importantes conclusões retratando a atividade apícola nos dois territórios, inclusive detectar que a infraestrutura analisada foi uma das principais causas da dificuldade para a certificação e comercialização, também, abordou aspectos sociais, econômicos, tecnológicos e ambientais o que permitiu identificar as fragilidades e otimização da atividade, para poder direcionar decisões relevantes no agronegócio e que consequentemente estimule os governantes a desenvolver políticas públicas direcionadas a esse tipo de produtor / 2017-01-26

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T18:57:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2288.pdf: 709049 bytes, checksum: 694c734061c4ecba37345118443eaac2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-17 / The rural area of the municipality of Pedreira presents its fragmented landscape caused by agricultural expansion occurred in the region at the time of deploying cafezais and then pastures. Thus a proposal for agroforestry systems with potential beekeeping presents itself as a highly recommended strategy in the recovery of degraded areas coupled with the increase of income through beekeeping addition to environmental services generated by the activity. The general objectve of this study was to draw up designs for groforestry purposes with bee and analyze the specific objective ethnobotanical knowledge of farmers and beekeepers on local conditions, as a starting point for implementation and execution of plans for recovery of degraded areas, with focus in Areas of Protection Permanent and Legal Reserve. The proposal agroforestry systems with potential beekeeping are likely to be implemented considering the multifunctional to serve, from the legal aspects, ecological, economic and social. / A zona rural do município de Pedreira apresenta sua paisagem fragmentada causada pela expansão agrícola ocorrida na região na época da implantação de cafezais e posteriormente pastagens. Assim sendo uma proposta de sistemas agroflorestais com potencial apícola apresenta-se como uma estratégia altamente recomendável na recuperação de áreas degradadas aliada ao aumento de renda através da apicultura além dos serviços ambientais gerados pela atividade. O objetivo geral desse trabalho foi a elaboração de desenhos de sistemas agroflorestais com finalidades apícolas e o objetivo específico analisar o conhecimento etnobotânico dos agricultores e apicultores sobre as condições locais, como ponto de partida para implementação e execução de planos de recuperação de áreas degradadas, com enfoque à proteção de Áreas de Preservação Permanente e Reserva Legal. A proposta sistemas agroflorestais com potencial apícola são passíveis de serem executadas considerando a multifuncionalidade a que servem, desde os aspectos legais, ecológicos, econômicos e sociais.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T18:57:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2288.pdf: 709049 bytes, checksum: 694c734061c4ecba37345118443eaac2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-17 / The rural area of the municipality of Pedreira presents its fragmented landscape caused by agricultural expansion occurred in the region at the time of deploying cafezais and then pastures. Thus a proposal for agroforestry systems with potential beekeeping presents itself as a highly recommended strategy in the recovery of degraded areas coupled with the increase of income through beekeeping addition to environmental services generated by the activity. The general objectve of this study was to draw up designs for agroforestry purposes with bee and analyze the specific objective ethnobotanical knowledge of farmers and beekeepers on local conditions, as a starting point for implementation and execution of plans for recovery of degraded areas, with focus in Areas of Protection Permanent and Legal Reserve. The proposal agroforestry systems with potential beekeeping are likely to be implemented considering the multifunctional to serve, from the legal aspects, ecological, economic and social. / A zona rural do município de Pedreira apresenta sua paisagem fragmentada causada pela expansão agrícola ocorrida na região na época da implantação de cafezais e posteriormente pastagens. Assim sendo uma proposta de sistemas agroflorestais com potencial apícola apresenta-se como uma estratégia altamente recomendável na recuperação de áreas degradadas aliada ao aumento de renda através da apicultura além dos serviços ambientais gerados pela atividade. O objetivo geral desse trabalho foi a elaboração de desenhos de sistemas agroflorestais com finalidades apícolas e o objetivo específico analisar o conhecimento etnobotânico dos agricultores e apicultores sobre as condições locais, como ponto de partida para implementação e execução de planos de recuperação de áreas degradadas, com enfoque à proteção de Áreas de Preservação Permanente e Reserva Legal. A proposta sistemas agroflorestais com potencial apícola são passíveis de serem executadas considerando a multifuncionalidade a que servem, desde os aspectos legais, ecológicos, econômicos e sociais.

Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The recognition of the regional beekeeping flora is a form of information on the dynamics of the trophic niche of Apis mellifera, allowing the use of coherent way of the features offered by native flora as well as assist in the management operations of an apiary and valuation of bee products. The objective was to characterize the bee flora in honey and pollen samples in apiaries producers in four municipalities belonging to the region of east of Sergipe (Neópolis, Japaratuba, São Cristovão e Estância). Exsiccates were prepared for identification of botanical species. Samples of honey, bee pollen in three colonies were collected from Apis mellifera, and plants surrounding the apiary at 12 months. The identification of the botanical species was performed by comparison with the aid of the reference blades prepared from flower buds of blooming species situated approximately the apiary. The samples of honey, bee pollen and flower buds were sent to the Forest Entomology Laboratory / UFS, being submitted to acetolysis analysis and blades made with glycerin jelly for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of pollen in honey and bee pollen. Approximately the apiaries were identified an average of 43 botanical species by city, and the plants of Asteraceae and Fabaceae families the most representative, with seven to ten species respectively. In samples of pollen, the Fabaceae family presented greater number of species, and the pollen grains of species Mimosa pudica and Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia frequently in the municipalities of Neópolis, Japaratuba and São Cristóvão, and the Estância municipality of the most frequent species was Cocus nucifera Arecaceae family. In addition, encountered during 10 the 12 months evaluated. Fabaceae was also the most representative family in honey samples analyzed, with the species Chamaecrista flexuosa, M. caesalpiniaefolia, M. pudica and M. tenuiflora, being found in the four cities studied. Arecacea and Fabaceae were the most important families, frequent and abundant for samples of honey and pollen can be considered essential for pollen production in the study area. The Sergipe beekeepers in the possession of this information can maximize production and add value to the final product, by botanical certification of their products. / O reconhecimento da flora apícola regional é uma forma de obter informações sobre a dinâmica do nicho trófico da Apis mellifera, permitindo o aproveitamento de maneira coerente dos recursos oferecidos pela flora nativa, bem como auxiliar nas operações de manejo de um apiário e valorização dos produtos apícolas. O objetivo do trabalho foi caracterizar a flora apícola em amostras de mel e pólen em apiários de produtores de quatro municípios pertencentes à região do Leste Sergipano (Neópolis, Japaratuba, São Cristovão e Estância). Exsicatas foram confeccionadas para identificação das espécies botânicas. Amostras de mel, pólen apícola em três colônias de Apis mellifera foram coletadas, além das plantas no entorno do apiário pelo período de 12 meses. As amostras de mel, pólen apícola e botões florais foram encaminhadas para o Laboratório de Entomologia Florestal/UFS, sendo submetidas à análise de acetólise e confeccionadas lâminas com gelatina glicerinada para avaliação qualitativa e quantitativa dos grãos de pólen no mel e pólen apícola. A identificação das espécies botânicas foi realizada por comparação com o auxílio de lâminas de referência, preparadas com botões florais das espécies em floração, situadas no entorno do apiário. No entorno dos apiários foram identificadas uma média de 43 espécies botânicas por cidade, sendo as plantas das famílias Asteraceae e Fabaceae as mais representativas, com sete a dez espécies respectivamente. Nas amostras de pólen apícola, a família Fabaceae apresentou maior número de espécies, sendo os grãos de pólen das espécies Mimosa pudica e Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia as mais frequentes nos municípios de Neópolis, Japaratuba, São Cristóvão e no município de Estância a espécie mais frequentes foi Cocus nucifera da família Arecaceae. Sendo encontradas durante 10 dos 12 meses avaliados. A família Fabaceae foi a mais representativa nas amostras de mel analisadas, com as espécies Chamaecrista flexuosa, M. caesalpiniaefolia, M. pudica e M. tenuiflora, encontradas nos quatro municípios estudados. Arecacea e Fabaceae foram às famílias mais importantes, frequentes e abundantes para as amostras de mel e de pólen, podendo ser considerada essencial para a produção polínica na área estudada. Os apicultores sergipanos de posse dessas informaçoes podem maximizar a produção e agregar valor ao produto final, através da certificação botânicas dos seus produtos.

Orientador: Felix Guilherme Reyes Reyes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T18:48:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Peres_GustavoTayar_D.pdf: 22081136 bytes, checksum: 25f3247111a6cf7c5002cf686601c720 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: O resumo poderá ser visualizado no texto completo da tese digital / Abstract: The abstract is available with the full electronic document / Doutorado / Doutor em Ciência de Alimentos

Submitted by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2016-12-05T15:42:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - José Vieira Visconde- 2016.pdf: 1792140 bytes, checksum: 9e390ae6a9ffe9328da24644f184bbad (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2016-12-05T15:43:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - José Vieira Visconde- 2016.pdf: 1792140 bytes, checksum: 9e390ae6a9ffe9328da24644f184bbad (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-05T15:43:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - José Vieira Visconde- 2016.pdf: 1792140 bytes, checksum: 9e390ae6a9ffe9328da24644f184bbad (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-30 / This research aimed to analyze the organizational structure of the beekeeping activity in the municipalities of Goiás, Silvânia, Vianópolis and Orizona. The research was carried out during February 2016. Data on the conditions of the organizational structure of the beekeeping activity in these three municipalities were collected and analyzed. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied to 28 beekeepers. Questionnaires included questions on social organizational structure, economic organization structure, technological organizational structure, environmental organizational structure and the organizational structure of management. To meet the proposed objectives, the study is based ona literature review, documental research, interviews, application of semi-structured questionnaires and quantitative and qualitative analysis of data from field research. It was shown, that most beekeepers do not adopt good management practices in their business. They do not have an organizational structure that allows produce honey with safety and quality. An organizational structure guided by traditional schemes, with few technologies and maintenance of beekeeping as a secondary activity, has not proved sufficient to achieve and / or sustain competitiveness with other Brazilian states. / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar a estrutura organizacional da atividade apícola nos municípios goianos, Silvânia, Vianópolis e Orizona. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida durante o mês de fevereiro de 2016, quando foram colhidos e analisados dados sobre as condições da estrutura organizacional da atividade apícola nesses três municípios. Foram aplicados questionários semi- estruturados, em 29 apicultores, nos quais foram levantados dados referentes a estrutura organizacional social, econômica, tecnológica, ambiental e da gestão. Para atender aos objetivos propostos, o estudo sustentou-se em revisão bibliográfica, pesquisa documental, entrevistas, aplicação de questionários semi-estruturados e análise quantitativa e qualitativa dos dados provenientes da pesquisa de campo. Foi evidenciado nessa pesquisa, que as boas práticas de manejo na atividade apícola não são praticadas pela maioria dos apicultores. Não possuem uma estrutura organizacional que permita produzir mel com segurança e qualidade. Uma estrutura organizacional pautada em esquemas tradicionais, com poucas tecnologias e a manutenção da apicultura como atividade secundária, tem se revelado insuficiente para alcançar e/ou sustentar a competitividade com outros estados brasileiros.

Cette thèse de Doctorat, intitulée « Le miel en Égypte ancienne. Économie et fonction d’un produit précieux », a pour principal objectif d’identifier les différents domaines dans lesquels le miel intervenait dans la société égyptienne antique. Elle évalue notamment l’état des connaissances des Anciens Égyptiens en matière d’apiculture : les techniques employées depuis la récolte jusqu’à la mise en pot, le choix des zones géographiques de production, la typologie des miels.Elle vise également à révéler l’existence d’une économie spécifique à cette denrée enconsidérant notamment sa distribution, sa valeur marchande au cours de l’histoirepharaonique ainsi que la portée des échanges avec les cultures voisines.Enfin, elle interroge les textes afin de définir les divers usages du miel : alimentaire, au moyen des scènes de « pâtisserie » et des nombreuses listes d’offrandes ; médical, grâce aux papyri médico-magiques ; rituel, à travers l’étude des inscriptions de tombes et de temples. / Entitled "Honey in Ancient Egypt. Economy and Functions according to a valuable product", this PhD thesis main objective is to identify the various areas where the honey had a role in ancient Egyptian society. This study assesses specifically the state of knowledge of the ancient Egyptians in terms of beekeeping techniques from harvest to potting, as well as the selection of adapted geographical areas of production and the existing classification of each type of honey.My PhD thesis aims at showing the existence of a specific economy for this commodity and especially its distribution, its market value during the Pharaonic history and the scope of exchanges with neighbouring cultures.Finally, this research examines texts to define the various daily uses of honey : food, consisting in scenes of "pastry", many lists of offerings, etc. ; medical, thanks to medical-magical papyri ; ritual, through the study of inscriptions of tombs and temples.

La question de la biodiversité urbaine a pris une place importante au sein des politiques publiques à toutes les échelles, y compris celle de la ville. Initialement conçue comme une adhésion générique à une éthique de la conservation de la biodiversité et aux grands objectifs internationaux de la part des villes, la biodiversité est désormais sujette à un processus de technicisation, de traduction en objectifs mesurables. Cette thèse se situe à ce carrefour, entre la notion abstraite de biodiversité urbaine et sa traduction en éléments tangibles. En partant du simple postulat que mesurer ne veut pas uniquement dire quantifier, nous nous sommes interrogés sur ce que peut être une mesure de la biodiversité urbaine. A travers cette problématique, nous avons questionné autant la mesure officielle, le City Biodiversity index, produit par une équipe d’experts singapouriens (ce que la mesure est) ; que l’existence d’autres manières de produire une mesure n’ayant pas la quantification comme convention préalable (ce que la mesure pourrait être). Cette approche a donné lieu à deux terrains distincts : le premier au sein de l’équipe singapourienne dirigeant le processus de création de l’indice, et le second, au sein d’une association d’apiculteurs urbains agissant en faveur de la biodiversité urbaine, localisée à Fontenay-sous-Bois. Par une comparaison expérimentale des deux processus de mise en mesure, nous avons pu, d’une part, enquêter sur la façon de traduire une notion en mesure, et d’autre part, interroger les contenus mêmes de la notion. Ainsi, nous avons cherché à démontrer que la mesure existante de la biodiversité urbaine se caractérise en tant qu’espace d’exercice du pouvoir de la part de la ville-État de Singapour, un espace de compétition par instruments (et des villes globales qui les portent), afin de devenir la référence internationale en matière de biodiversité urbaine. L’expérience quotidienne des apiculteurs urbains, quant à elle, nous a permis de montrer qu’il existe d’autres façons d’articuler concrètement la notion de biodiversité urbaine et de se donner une mesure pour agir et (s’) évaluer. Il s’agit dans ce cas d’une mesure qualitative faite d’indications, plutôt que d’indicateurs, des indications en évolution, mais qui concrétisent une notion floue comme celle de la biodiversité urbaine. Enfin, à travers la comparaison, nous avons pu observer et analyser l’émergence d’espaces d’intelligibilité partagés entre les deux perspectives, et ainsi sont devenues visibles des configurations possibles de la notion de biodiversité urbaine. / The issue of urban biodiversity has become an important part of public policy at all levels. Originally conceived as a generic endorsement of a biodiversity conservation ethics, aimed at joining up with the major international objectives of urban sustainability, urban biodiversity is today undergoing a process of technicization, meant to translate a set of concepts into measurable objectives. It is precisely on this conceptual crossroads that the present analysis focuses, namely, between the abstract notion of urban biodiversity and its translation into tangible features. Starting from the assumption that ‘quantification’ is first of all an agreement on what one wants to measure of a concept, this research explores what an urban biodiversity measure might be. In other words, we question both the internationally recognized measure developed by a team of Singaporean experts, the so-called City Biodiversity Index (what the measure is), and the existence of other ways of producing a measurement without the help of a quantitative convention (what the measure might be). From such theoretical framework two distinct types of field works derived: the first, with the Singaporean team leading the index’s creation process; the second, with an association of urban beekeepers in Fontenay-sous-Bois, working to preserve urban biodiversity. By an experimental comparison of the two measurement processes, we were able, on the one hand, to figure out how a notion is translated into a measure and, on the other, to challenge the very contents of the notion. We sought to demonstrate that the current urban biodiversity measure is a space of “competition by instruments”, namely, a space of power exercised by Singapore’s city-state with the aim of becoming the urban biodiversity international model. The daily experience of the urban beekeepers, instead, showed that there are alternative ways to concretely translate the notion of urban biodiversity, i.e., through indications rather than indicators, and create in this way a concreate measure of the concept. Finally, by comparing the two contexts, we have been able to observe and analyze the emergence of ‘shared spaces of intelligibility’ and thus of others potential configurations of the notion of urban biodiversity.

Submitted by Mario BC (mario@bc.ufrpe.br) on 2016-09-01T13:15:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Manuella Carolina Costa de Oliveira.pdf: 2651629 bytes, checksum: 4d7f394300eed380f483e8398a5f2cff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-01T13:15:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Manuella Carolina Costa de Oliveira.pdf: 2651629 bytes, checksum: 4d7f394300eed380f483e8398a5f2cff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main objective of this essay was to analyze the contribution of a central cooperative organization for honey producers, production commercialization and strengthening of the associative tendency in rural areas. It also includes as a point of interest; to situate the breeding process and organizational structure of this central, evaluating business strategies adopted for market integration, identifying their socioeconomic impacts on family farms and throughout the territory. Hence, it is asked which organizational and commercial strategies were adopted by the central cooperative? What were their socioeconomic impacts on the territory in which it operates? Such issues have been analyzed with reference to the Brazilian Central Cooperative Apicultural Semiarid - House APIS - located in the city of Picos, State of Piaui. The APIS House, founded in 2005, has a social body made up of eight credit unions, operating in 52 municipalities of the states of Piauí and Ceará, covering 960 beekeepers in the productive chain of honey. Focusing on the organization of honey producers in the city of Picos, the center becomes an important economic organization of the region of Picos, an instrument fostering productive reorganization projects and establishing commercial partnerships at the national and international levels. A qualitative approach was supported by combined techniques of data collection via semi-structured interviews, conducted from a script, field observation, literature review, document analysis and some technical resources. The central cooperative studied allowed us to observe, their contribution to the consolidation of the Local Productive Arrangement (APL), around the production and marketing of honey in the region of Picos. Such an arrangement contemplates the participation of cooperatives of natural honey producers, public agencies and private entities, allowing a particular dynamic in the territory. The study also highlighted the importance of the House APIS in the organization of beekeepers, in the stability of the price of honey in the local market, the expansion of production volume and, expansion of commercialization of honey markets, bringing impacts to job creation and expansion income as well as contributing to the dynamism and local economy. / Constitui como principal objetivo desta pesquisa analisar a contribuição de uma central de cooperativa de mel para a organização dos produtores, a comercialização da produção, e o fortalecimento do tecido associativo no espaço rural. Também constitui como fonte de interesse situar o processo de criação e a estrutura organizacional desta central, avaliando as estratégias comerciais adotadas para sua inserção nos mercados, identificando os seus impactos socioeconômicos sobre os produtores familiares e sobre o território. Questiona-se, nesse sentido: quais as estratégias organizacionais e comerciais adotadas pela central? Quais os seus impactos socioeconômicos para o território em que está inserida? Tais questões foram analisadas tendo como referência a Central de Cooperativas Apícolas do Semiárido Brasileiro – a Casa APIS – situada na cidade de Picos, no Estado do Piauí. A Casa APIS, fundada em 2005, possui um corpo social formado por oito cooperativas singulares, atuando em 52 municípios dos estados do Piauí e do Ceará, além de abranger 960 apicultores dentro da cadeia produtiva do mel. Tendo como foco organizar os produtores de mel na cidade de Picos, a central torna-se um instrumento importante de organização econômica da região de Picos, ao fomentar projetos de reorganização produtiva, como também estabelecer parcerias comerciais no âmbito nacional e internacional. A abordagem metodológica qualitativa foi amparada por técnicas combinadas de coleta de dados, por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas, realizadas a partir de um roteiro, além da observação de campo, pesquisa bibliográfica, análise documental e alguns recursos técnicos. A central de cooperativas estudada nos permitiu observar sua contribuição para a sedimentação do Arranjo Produtivo Local (APL), em torno da produção e comercialização do mel na região de Picos. Tal arranjo contempla a participação de cooperativas singulares produtoras de mel, de órgãos públicos e de entidades privadas, permitindo uma dinâmica particular no território. O estudo evidenciou ainda a importância da Casa APIS na organização dos apicultores, na estabilidade do preço do mel no mercado local, na ampliação do volume de produção e na ampliação dos mercados de comercialização do mel, trazendo impactos sobre a criação de empregos e a ampliação de renda, contribuindo para o dinamismo e a economia local.

Tea is the most popular beverage worldwide, second only to water. The United States is the third largest importer of tea in the world, importing a total of about 260 million pounds tea annually. With increased demand for locally sourced food products, questions are raised regarding whether domestic production of tea is feasible. Compared to major tea producing countries with centuries of growing history, tea production in the U.S. is limited and requires research support in many aspects of tea production. The objectives of this study were to investigate plant growth, leaf morphology, and seasonal chemical compositions in tea leaves of nine tea cultivars grown in Mississippi, United States; evaluate the effects of black, blue and red shade nets on plant growth and seasonal leaf quality of tea plants; and investigate the content of mineral nutrients in tea leaves of different cultivars and one cultivar under different colors of shade nets. The nine tested tea cultivars varied in plant growth, leaf morphology, cold tolerance, biochemical composition [including soluble solids, carbohydrates, total polyphenols (TP), free amino acids (AA), L-theanine, and caffeine], and mineral content in tea leaves. Among all cultivars transplanted to the field from one-gallon containers in spring 2017, ‘BL2’ had the greatest plant growth index (PGI) when measured in Feb. 2018 and Feb. 2019, which may be helpful toward suppressing weeds and early establishment of a tea plantation. ‘Christine’s Choice’ had the highest content of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, iron, and boron, and the second highest content of potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The cultivars evaluated in this study generally adapted well to the local environment. All tea samples collected from the nine cultivars and three seasons were considered suitable for green tea processing with low total polyphenol to free amino acids ratios (TP/AA) ranging from 1.72 to 3.71. When compared to unshaded control, black, blue, and red shade nets increased PGI, net photosynthetic rate, and stomatal conductance, decreased N content in tea leaves, decreased air and leaf surface temperatures in summer and reduced cold damage in winter. Red shade nets were considered helpful for improving green tea quality by increasing the content of L-theanine and free amino acids in tea leaves collected in spring and fall compared to unshaded control.