Abstract
The State of Parana stands out for its tradition in the medicinal plants cultivation. The increase of the demand due to the search of alternative and profitable crops and the impulse to an environmentally sustainable agriculture encouraged farmers to diversify production. The field research about the different links of the guaco supply chain allowed the construction of its flowchart, the characterization of the production system and flow, as well as the knowledge of its costs and revenues in order to analyze the commercialization margins and markups. The collection systems with enrichment and the cultivation ones presented different results in relation to its production cost, with the producer/collector reaching a yield of 48.9%, the lowest commercialization margin among all links of the chain, while the farmer who cultivates guaco gets a commercialization margin of 346.4%. The largest commercialization margins (1,733.3%) are in the links outside the properties" gates, as the percentage difference between the price paid by the consumer and the one received by the producer/collector. Producers/collectors can add more income in several links of the supply chain through the producers" organization and by improvements in the production process, enabling the economic and social enhancement at the family farms, thus reducing the environmental impact and ensuring the sustainability of production systems.
Keywords
Medicinal plant; Guaco; Mikania laevigata Schultz; commercialization
