The cacao growing region of the southern part of the state of Bahía (Brazil): Crisis and transformation

Abstract

The article provides a brief overview of the recent transformation undergone by the Cacao-growing Microregion of Bahía (Brazil), emphasizing the main endogenous and exogenous factors that contributed to the process of regional transformation. The methodology involved bibliographic research considering i) articles published in scientific journals; (ii) articles available in specialized online journals and in printed books; (iii) socioeconomic secondary-data drawn from the websites of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (ibge), Datasus, and undp; (iv) as well as the production of cartographic documents (maps). For decades, the prevalence of cacao monoculture has marked the local socioeconomic scenario in a substantial manner. The last of the three main crises in this sector has contributed significantly to rural and socioeconomic changes in the landscape, which brought about a process of socioeconomic reorganization and a resignification of the micro-region. The main endogenous factors identified were: a severe crisis in cacao growing due to low water levels; brown rot, and infestation by crinipellis perniciosa (witches’ broom); lack of modernization of production; decapitalization and indebtedness of cacao growers; and bankruptcy of industrial and commercial companies. The main exogenous factors identified were: macroeconomic instability; overproduction of cacao in other countries; decrease in product prices; structural changes in Brazil; and transformations due to globalization.