Toward the sustainable expansion of the wild edible plant production chain

Myrciaria floribunda (West ex Willd.) O.Berg, commonly known as cambuí , is a wild edible fruit with high socioeconomic potential. However, its value chain remains geographically limited and poorly explored. In this study, we sought to identify bottlenecks and understand how the cambuí ( Myrciaria floribunda (West ex Willd.) O.Berg) value chain is structured in the São Francisco River mouth region, in Northeastern Brazil. A total of 116 local collaborators (harvesters, processors and consumers) were involved across different stages of data collection, which included semi-structured interviews with harvesters and consumers and a participatory workshop with representatives of the main harvesters’ association in the region. The findings indicated that, although cambuí is perceived as widely available in forest areas, its value chain is short, restricted to the local context, and marked by structural weaknesses, such as limited institutional support and issues related to the transportation and storage of the fruit. Despite these challenges, harvesters recognized the species as one of the most profitable among their current native fruit options available that are traded locally, with high potential to meet high market demands. The main bottlenecks reported to limit the expansion of the cambuí value chain included a lack of technical support and institutional partnerships, land conflicts among harvesters, and the absence of specific standards or a sustainable management plan for the species. We conclude that expanding the cambuí value chain requires integrated strategies, encompassing the valorization of local knowledge, empowerment of extractive communities, conservation of harvesting areas, and access to markets guided by socio-environmental responsibility, thereby ensuring both the socioeconomic well-being of harvesters and the conservation of the species.

Biodiversity · Chain (unit) · Empowerment · Ethnobotany · Production (economics) · Supply chain · Sustainability · Value (mathematics) · Value chain · African Botany and Ecology Studies · Agricultural and Food Sciences · Phytochemistry Medicinal Plant Applications