CUSTO E LUCRATIVIDADE DA PRODUÇÃO DE MANDIOCA CONVENCIONAL VERSUS ALTERNATIVA EM BOM JESUS-RN.

The região agreste of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, being the largest cassava production, lacks studies on cost and profitability of this historic farming culture. Cassava is presented as an option culture, however, requiring further studies regarding its operation in the region. The present paper aimed to analyze the costs and profitability of cassava agroecosystems two families of Bom Jesus-RN, one traditional and the other alternative harvest. For this purpose, two local agroecosystems, were visited, in order to survey the technical coefficient of this culture and its profit indicators. After the analyzes, it was found that in the period rated the agroecosystem alternative was more economically sustainable than conventional. Furthermore, it was noted that cassava, in polyculture, has presented an excellent choice of culture in the familiar agricultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]