Caracterização da meliponicultura e do perfil dos meliponicultores no município de Borborema Paraíba, Brasil

Abstract

In view of the popularization of the activity of meliponiculture in the municipality of Borborema-PB and the need to characterize the current situation of meliponiculture. The general objective of this study was to characterize meliponiculture and the profile of meliponiculturists in the municipality of Borborema - PB, regarding socioeconomic and zootechnical aspects. The research is characterized as a field study, of an exploratory nature. It was held in the municipality of Borborema - PB, between the months of June and July 2023. To obtain data, a structured questionnaire was elaborated consisting of 42 questions, standardized in Google Forms and applied through on-site interviews. The data obtained were analyzed quantitatively, as well as transformed into percentage values for the presentation and discussion of the results. In addition, they were categorized according to the characteristics of each question, allowing the systematization and construction of graphs, as well as their interpretation. A total of 30 beekeepers were interviewed. The socioeconomic characterization of the breeders indicated that: 83.3% are male; 83.3% were over 41 years of age; 56.66% had an education level between incomplete elementary school and complete high school. It was found that 60% develop agriculture as their main economic activity, 83.3% of the meliponaries are in rural areas, 56.6% have been raising bees for more than 10 years, 100% pointed out the species Melipona scutellaris as the most bred and 96.7% use northeastern model boxes. In addition, 86.7% indicated that the main purpose of breeding is the consumption of honey. Honey is the main product sold by 76.7% of the breeders, with values between R$ 100.00 and R$ 200.00/liter. Of the interviewees, 76.7% indicated the destruction of native vegetation as the biggest problem for beekeeping. It was identified that 93.3% of the interviewees had never received any type of training in meliponiculture. Meliponiculture in the municipality of Borborema - PB is a traditional activity, predominantly male, and mostly carried out by older people, who have an intermediate level of education, lacking technical training on the part of meliponiculturists, to promote the improvement of zootechnical indicators, and greater interdependence between all productive segments, adding greater value to the final product. Still, despite the lack of programs to develop public policies to encourage the breeding of stingless bees in the municipality, it is worth investing in this area because it is a source of income generation and there are trained people in the region who already work with this segment have been able to get significant income from this production.