Estratégias de manejo pecuário na Caatinga: o caso de agricultores assistidos pelo projeto Sustentare na comunidade Sítio Areias, Sobral, CE

Livestock is one of the most relevant activities for the Northeast Brazil. The present work aims to describe and discuss the management strategies followed by family farmers for animal production, besides carrying out an economic evaluation of swine and poultry. The research was performed to evaluate the activities carried out in the Sitio Areias community, in Sobral, CE, Brazil, from March to November 2014. In order to understand the functioning of livestock in agroecosystems, the group interview, the seasonal calendar, and the monitoring of the daily management routine were carried out. An economic assessment of the raising of nonruminants was also performed. Poultry has a high potential for generating monetary income (RM) throughout the year, with the added value of R$ 741.00 and 60% of the gross product. Pig farming has shown its relevance in the financial situation of the family dedicated to this activity, with R$ 430.00 RM. However, it is necessary to overcome difficulties such as precarious health management. Goat farming has evolved in the community with the arrival of the Cabra Nossa de Cada Dia project, but it no longer fulfills the function of providing milk for child development. Farmers who are partners of the Sustentare Project, carried out the integration of livestock systems with different agroecosystems, which are usually managed independently by different families.