ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF CAJÁ (Spondias mombin L.): A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE MONOCULTURE SYSTEM AND THE CROP-LIVESTOCK-FORESTRY INTEGRATION (CLFI) SYSTEM

Abstract

Yellow mombin (Spondias mombin L.) is a native fruit tree of high agro-industrial potential, still in a pre-domestication stage, whose commercial cultivation faces structural challenges arising from the absence of official registration with Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, the scarcity of systematised statistical data, and the inadequacy of post-harvest logistics infrastructure. Against this backdrop, this article aims to comparatively analyse the economic and environmental viability of two production systems applicable to yellow mombin: conventional monoculture and the Crop-Livestock-Forestry Integration (CLFI) system. The study adopts a qualitative, analytical-descriptive approach, grounded in a systematic bibliographic review of scientific publications, technical reports and institutional documents produced between 2015 and 2024. Results show that monoculture presents systemic limitations of environmental, economic and social order that compromise its sustainability in the medium and long terms when applied to undomesticated native species. In contrast, the CLFI system demonstrates significant potential for productive risk mitigation, revenue diversification and ecosystem preservation, establishing itself as the most economically viable and environmentally coherent alternative for the commercial production of yellow mombin. It is concluded that the adoption of CLFI, articulated with public promotion policies, applied research and associative organisation of fruit growers, can structure a resilient and competitive productive chain for yellow mombin in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil.