Stands of babassu palms (Orbignya martiana) occupy an area of Brazil estimated at nearly 200,000 km 2, concentrated in the states of Maranhao, Piauf and Goi~s. Babassu's cryptogeal germination, establishing the apical meristem of the plant below ground for its early growth and development, enables it to survive human disturbance, making the palm an integral part of shifting cultivation and pastoral farming systems. People obtain a multitude of products from babassu throughout the palm's life cycle." leaves are used widely for thatch, basketry, and construction; trunks for palmito and bridges," the fruit for feed, oil and, charcoal. As many as 450,000 subsistence-level households rely on the sale of babassu kernels, used in a regional vegetable oil industry, for an important share of their cash incomes. Deforestation pressures and technological innovation toward an industry based on mechanical processing of whole babassu fruit threaten to reduce benefits the palm provides to the region's rural poor. Understanding how babassu is used by rural families who depend upon it will help to make current efforts at "domesticating" the palm and whole-fruit processing more responsive to human needs.The babassu palm (Orbignya martiana Barb. Rodr.), spelled baba(u in modem Portuguese, reaches a height of up to 30 m at maturity; its dense crown of arching pinnate leaves has a diameter of 8 m. Babassu palms form monospecific stands over wide areas of Brazil (Fig. 1) on sites where there has been disturbance of the original vegetation, for example, where primary forests have been cleared. Babassu stands are concentrated in the southern portion of the Amazon Basin, an area that has undergone rapid population growth in recent decades as waves of settlers have arrived from other regions of Brazil. Today the palm forests represent a crucial source of subsistence goods and services for hundreds of thousands of rural families.This article examines the role of babassu in the lives of people who rely on the palm for an important share of their livelihood. Most of the literature (e.g., Teixeira Leite, 1953;MIC/STI, 1977) focuses on the palm's potential as a source of raw materials for industrialization, largely ignoring its importance in subsistence economies. Current efforts aimed at expanding the market potential of babassu products and clearcutting of the palm forests for more intensive agriculture often conflict with the basic needs of people dependent on the palm. A knowledge of these needs may point the way toward more harmonious utilization of babassu in both market and subsistence economies.

Babassu palms (Orbignya spp.) cover nearly 200,000 km 2 in Brazil, providing cash income, fuel, fibre, edible oil and food to a large number of tenant farm households. Babassu is closely integrated within pastoral and shifting cultivation systems of Mid-North Brazil. In pastures, babassu provides shade for cattle, aids soil moisture retention, produces organic matter, generates supplementary farm income at little cost, and offers year-round employment. On the other hand, the persistence of juvenile palms reduces pasture grass productivity due to plant competition, and therefore there is a trend to eradicate babassu through clearcutting and understorey suppression. At moderate densities of less than 100 individuals per ha, mature babassu palms in cropland do not appear to harm crop productivity. In such cases, palms are thinned and leaves of the remaining ones are cut back, supplying fuel for the burn and nutrients to the soil. However, reduced fallow cycles due to pasture conversion threaten babassu as well as crop productivity. Resumo. Palmeiras de baba~u (Orbignya spp.) 0ccorrem em quase 200.000km 2 no Brasil, proporcionando renda em dinheiro, combustivel, fibras, 6leo e alimentos para eerca de quinhentas mil familias de pequenos produtores rurais, a maioria arrendat~irios ou posseiros. O baba~u aparece integrado dentro de sistemas de produq~o pastoris e de agricultura migrat6ria no Meio Norte do Brasil. Nas pastagens, o baba~u prov~ somhra para o gado, ajuda na reten~o da umidade no solo, produz mat6ria org~nica,. gera renda suplementar corn investimento mlnimo, e oferece condi~Ses para fixar a forqa de trabalho durante a entressafra dos pr0dutos agricolas. A presenqa de palmeiras" }uvenis, por6m, reduz-a produtividade dos pastos devido a eompeti~o, o que leva os criadores de gado a erradicar o baba~u, suprlmindo tanto as palmeiras juven~s, como as palmeiras adultas. No que diz respeito ~t agricultura migrat6ria, o baba~u adulto em densidades moderadas, ou seja, at6 100 indivfduos por hectare, aparentemente n~o reduz a produtividade das culturas anuais. Nestes casos, parte das palmeiras s~o desbastadas e as folhas das restantes cortadas, proporcionando c_ombustivel para_ a queima e nutrientes para o solo. No entanto, a redu~o nos ciclos de descanso devido ~ convers~o das terras agricolas em pastagens ameaqa a produtividade quer do baba~u quer das pr6prias culturas.

Babassu palms (Orbignya spp.) cover nearly 200,000 km 2 in Brazil, providing cash income, fuel, fibre, edible oil and food to a large number of tenant farm households. Babassu is closely integrated within pastoral and shifting cultivation systems of Mid-North Brazil. In pastures, babassu provides shade for cattle, aids soil moisture retention, produces organic matter, generates supplementary farm income at little cost, and offers year-round employment. On the other hand, the persistence of juvenile palms reduces pasture grass productivity due to plant competition, and therefore there is a trend to eradicate babassu through clearcutting and understorey suppression. At moderate densities of less than 100 individuals per ha, mature babassu palms in cropland do not appear to harm crop productivity. In such cases, palms are thinned and leaves of the remaining ones are cut back, supplying fuel for the burn and nutrients to the soil. However, reduced fallow cycles due to pasture conversion threaten babassu as well as crop productivity.

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