Social and Productive Indicators of Forage Palm and the Survival of Livestock Activity in the Semi-arid Region of Northeastern Brazil

The importance of the cultivation of forage palm (Opuntia fícus indica Mill) for the agriculturalists of the semi-arid region of Northeast of Brazil, in particular the one of the State of Paraiba, is due to its adaptability to the environmental conditions, especially, in the dry period, since it is the only alternative to feed the herd in most of the localities of this region. The plague of carmine cochineal (Dactylopius opuntiae) has been decimating the planting of this important forage in the intermediate geographic region of Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil. In view of this, it was necessary to carry out a quantitative and/or qualitative diagnosis of the areas cultivated with the traditional palm (giant cultivar) and its revitalization, with the introduction of new varieties resistant to this pest, in four localities of this region, these determinations being the main objectives. The territorial cut included about fifty farms in the four localities, being geo referenced using GPS and satellite imagery from Google Earth. The diagnosis consisted of the application of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, interviews and in loco observations. Data analyzes were performed using statistical distributions of measures of central, dispersion and frequency trends. The main results indicated that forage palm in the semi-arid state of Paraiba, Brazil, is the main or only source of food for ruminants. Carmine cochineal (Dactylopius opuntiae) decimated traditional palm varieties and the only alternative was to discard part of the herd and reduce livestock activity. The levels of infestation of carmine cochineal and destruction of palms are of the order of 90%. The program of revitalization of traditional palm cultivation by clams resistant to carmine cochineal has been the alternative for the continuity of livestock activity in this region, although there is a contribution of drought.