Perfil e percepção de consumidores sobre alimentos cultivados em sistema agroflorestal em Santarém, Pará

Food production in agroforestry systems (SAFs) has several advantages. The introduction of short-cycle species generates income in the first few years, which helps to maintain perennial species. Therefore, testing different cropping options in SAFs is important to reduce production costs and promote family food sovereignty. In this study, food production in SAFs was compared with a system without the consortium, called full sun (control treatment). The aim was to assess the profile and consumer perception of food from these farming systems. To this end, 37 questionnaires were administered to the target group of the university restaurant to evaluate samples of tubers (yams and purple yams – Dioscorea alata L. and Dioscorea trifida L.f) and the tuberous root (ginger – Zingiber officinale Roscoe.). The results showed that ginger and yam were widely known (100%), while yam was known by 78% of the participants. In terms of consumption, the percentages ranged from 19 to 38 per cent for the different species. When choosing which species to buy, anatomical characteristics such as colour, size and shape of the samples were important attributes in the final decision. Ginger and cará-roxo were well accepted in full sun, with percentages of 54 per cent and 72.9 per cent respectively. Yam, on the other hand, when grown in a consortium, achieved a significant percentage compared to the other options, reaching 37.8 per cent of preference.