THE PROJECT OF CONTRIBUTION TO GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION OF MANIOC FLOUR OF TYPE COPIOBA: THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL INDICATORS FOR THE EVALUATION OF IMPACTS ON DEVELOPMENT
The manioc flour denominated “copioba”, produced in the Recôncavo of Bahia, is a notable regional product. Even though there is a general recognition of the quality of this manioc flour, there have been no scientific studies on its production process or the characteristics that distinguish this manioc flour from the other ones. This study aims to relate the development of the Project “Quality, identity and reputation of Copioba and common manioc flour as a contribution to Geographical Indications (GI) in the Copioba Valley”, financed by the Foundation of support for research on the State of Bahia (FAPESB – Edital 021/2011), in partnership with the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), concerning the elaboration of indicators to support the process of request for the GI of manioc of type Copioba, and the assessment of impacts on social development due to the project, besides the organizational help to flour producers, in the Region. One interdisciplinary team has designed and tested quantitative and qualitative questionnaires to collect data, and these tools have been submitted to a Committee on Ethics in Research. One questionnaire will be administered to a population of approximately 200 workers and producers on the manioc flour production chain, making it possible to describe the collectivity’s socio-demographic profile before and after the acquiring the qualification. This method involves an innovation in the domain and will allow the evaluation of socioeconomic impacts of the IG on the manioc flour producers’ and workers’ lives. The qualitative methods applied to the same population aim to retrieve the local memory and value the product. The FAPESB public call inaugurates a new public policy of higher value in Bahia, because it allies a technical and scientific team to prospection on technology and social intervention by IG.