Environmental impacts of the conversion to organic honey production in family units of small farmers in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the ecological and environmental impacts of a group of family farmers in converting to organic production of honey, using the Ambitec method of animal production. A group of eight family production units were evaluated, with a comparative approach between the years of 2012 and 2014. The data for the survey was obtained through questionnaires applied to the representatives of the family production units, which attributed, for each variable studied, the value that represented the change provided by the implementation of the technology. After the insertion of the coefficients of change of each variable of environmental and ecological indicators per unit of production, the impact coefficient was automatically calculated through the Ambitec spreadsheet constructed by weighing matrices. It was observed that of the 25 indicators analyzed, 17 presented statistical differences (P < 0.05), but three indicators did not contribute to the improvement of the transition from the conventional to the organic. The average overall impact index for the conventional system was μ = − 1.5 and for the organic system μ = 3.7. There was a 17.79% increase in technology (PIT) for the transition from conventional production to the organic honey production system. There was a positive socio-environmental and ecological impact for beekeepers with the use of technologies introduced in the process of transition to organic honey production system.