Innovation Perspectives for the Bioeconomy of Non-Timber Forest Products in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has great potential for the development of an NTFP bioeconomy as it has 500 million hectares of forest. In this article, I seek to identify, through a literature review, innovations in products and processes inserted in the value chain of Brazilian NTFPs with a greater productive value. The hypothesis is that the prospects for the development of the bioeconomy of NTFPs depend on the establishment of a series of innovations along the value chain and in public policies. The production value of NTFPs reached USD 365 million in 2020 and the main NTFPs were açaí, yerba mate, carnaúba pode, Brazil nut, babassu, and pequi. I observed that the products with the highest production value developed innovations in the cultivation of species and in the development of new products. Innovations related to social and commercial organization have been developed within the scope of working in networks. Several policies were implemented based on the construction of a collective concept for the activity related to the NTFPs, sociobiodiversity. Even so, these actions need to be continued and strengthened for the transition to an inclusive, sustainable bioeconomy that takes into account traditional knowledge. Investment in research needs to be constant for the development of new products. Sustainable planting in diversified systems can also be considered an important strategy. Partnerships between the government and the various actors in the value chains are necessary and urgent to ensure innovations, also in the regulatory and organizational environment of NTFPs’ value chains.