Percepção dos consumidores do circuito curto sobre a qualidade dos produtos comercializados pela cooperativa d’Irituia

Abstract

Organic family production aims at sustainability, where it is possible to produce healthy food without causing harm to human health, biodiversity and the environment. This system allows the farmer a higher income, as it results in higher value-added products and the existence of a niche market. However, in addition to the benefits there are challenging difficulties for these small producers, mainly due to the lack of government support for technical assistance. For this reason, this work had the objective of evaluating, from the consumers' perception, the quality of the products made available by the family farmers members of the Cooperativa Agropecuária de Produtores Familiares Irituienses - D' Irituia. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied to 17 regular consumers of the short marketing circuit, composed of the internal and external community of the Federal Institute of Pará. The questionnaire sought to identify the degree of consumer satisfaction and perception about the quality of products. It was found that the main problems of the products delivered were: deteriorated, immature or matured food beyond what was desired. The dissatisfactions were mainly related to the following categories of products marketed: vegetables, fresh fruits and fruit pulps. These problems directly influenced the future purchase decision of some customers. About 71% of customers were disappointed with some product for the reasons: shape, size and mainly the state in which the products were. And, for these reasons, 42% of the dissatisfied ones stopped consuming these products. These data indicate that there is an emerging need to raise, along with producers, the issues that imply the lack of quality pointed out by short circuit buyers. Understanding the implications and collaborating with the individuals who have sought to offer quality food will ensure the strengthening of this marketing organization.