PERFIL DOS PRODUTORES RURAIS NA ABACAXICULTURA DO MUNICÍPIO DE FRUTAL-MG.

The aim of the study was to characterize the pineapple farmers in the municipality of Frutal, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. For that, an exploratory research and analysis of information about the topics pineapple culture and family farming were performed. With no previous record of the farmers's location, and only having information about the estimated number of pineapple producers in Frutal, approximately 200 people, the snowball method was used to find the producers. Thus, 107 interviews were performed, totaling 52% of pineapple farmers. The applied form was the central instrument for data collection and it was completed through face-to-face interviews. The main conclusions were: a) the pineapple farmers of Frutal does not know his own production costs; b) the majority, about 81% of the farmers, sell their production to middlemen and 74% of the theirs negotiate the sale when the production is ready for commercialization; c) in most rural farms, there is a difference in plant density and planted area each year; and d) it is probably necessary to increase the pineapple cooperative system, aiming the better organization of all production chain, optimization of costs and improvement in the negotiation of fruits in the formal market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]