Contribuições da agricultura familiar na preservação dos conhecimentos sobre plantas alimentícias não convencionais na região metropolitana de Natal/RN

Abstract

Historically, crop diversity is one of the pillars of family farming. Some species that grow spontaneously in their fields have food potential, but they are not marketed, for the most part, due to the lack of knowledge of the population as to the possibility of use. Givin this, the objectives of this research are to narrow the gap regarding the knowledge about the use of Unconventional Food Plants cultivated by family farmers in the Natal Metropolitan Region (NMR), Rio Grande do Norte, investigate the motivations of consumption of these plants in their homes and analyze their potential for marketing. For this, during the first phase of the project, the farmers of the agroecological fairs of Natal/RN who had their crops in the NMR were mapped, so that in the second phase visits to the production units were made. Guided tour and structured interview methods were used to collect verbal data. Vegetable material was collected to make exsiccates, which helped in the identification of the species. In this research were surveyed 66 species, predominantly belonging to the group of food of Vegetables. The interviewees pointed out as main motivations for consumption the benefits that these plants would bring to health and taste. The biggest obstacle pointed to commercialization was the lack of knowledge of the population about PANC. Thus, it is necessary to value the work of farmers, as they are fundamental to enable the access of the population to the PANC.