20 thousand cocoa seeds are distributed to local farmers in Pará state

Twenty thousand cocoa seeds were distributed to 21 families of rural farmers in the municipality of Capitão Poço, Para state in the northeast region of the country, in a direct action carried out by the local office of the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Pará (Emater), on the last day 7th. The seeds were donated by the Executive Committee of the Plan de Lavoura Cacaueira of Castanhal and each family received about one thousand seeds, a work that has been carried out by the local office since 2015.

Farmers were instructed by Emater to sow in an appropriate bag and wait for them to grow up to six months, before planting on dry (firmer) land, since the ideal time for planting the crop, without irrigation, is the rainy season. That is, the seedlings must be planted between the months of January and February.

The local office encouraged producers to work with the cocoa crop because, once planted, the crop would be producing the fruit for decades. The objective is to provide production conditions so that farmers can trade on a large scale, always with Emater's differentiated technical assistance. This generates employment and income for the region by generating direct and indirect labor activities.

Essential topics such as preparing seedlings, cultural treatments, diseases and pests and also harvesting are covered by Emater agronomists support. "They need to be prepared to start this process ”, he reinforced.

The 21 benefited families belong to the Bonito, Barro Vermelho, Grota Seca, Pau Amarelo, Carrapatinho, Carlos Lamarca, Pacui Mirim, São José, Bom Jardim, Jararaca, Caxinguiua, São Francisco and Santo Antônio communities. Most already work with cassava and citrus crops (orange, lemon and tangerine).