Organic production in the indigenous lands of Roraima is an experienced reality, the way producers work, respect the limits of the land without using pesticides, the crop thrives, and it would be no different in the Jabuti Indigenous Land, Jabuti community, Serra da Lua region. With part of the production focused on the cultivation of watermelons, on December 22, 2020, 50 tons of production were harvested, from an area of approximately two and a half hectares, at Sítio Deus é tudo.
According to producer Elmo da Silva, who has been working for 12 years in the production of watermelon, he said that the products are exported to the State of Manaus and are also sold in Boa Vista.
"Most of our production is exported outside the state, our focus is to produce much more, we are wanting to plant eight more hectares, already from the resource from this harvest, and certainly the forecast is that in April 2021 we will be harvesting another 180 tons of this production," he said.
Women also work in the production of watermelon and one of them is Mrs. Cléonicia da Silva. She explained that the export of production is quite extensive in the region. "In our community we have warrior women, and we are producers. Throughout the IT of Roraima, I have been learning since I was young with my husband Elmo, and I can share a little of the experience."
The Secretary General of the Indigenous Women's Movement, Maria Betânia, was present and helping in the harvest, congratulated the work of family production, stressed the importance of it within the communities. Hence the importance of the territories. She stressed that CIR is available to support the projects of the communities.
"It is a satisfaction to be seeing up close all this commitment of the family of Seu Elmo and Dona Cléo within the Jabuti community, a family work that brings the importance of local crops, shows that we make it happen, and they have been doing these activities for a long time. Exports are great for Manaus, because not to a large buyer in the state. Watermelon is very tasty and the buyer has this satisfaction in the purchase", highlighted the secretary.
The watermelon harvest is just one of the organic productions visited by the CIR in the T.Is of the indigenous communities of the state. They have their productive self-sufficiency, the productions are increasing more and more, bringing with them the satisfaction of the communities, and it shows that an independent indigenous organic production is increasingly a plausible reality.
