Disqualifier pour qualifier : enjeux et acteurs de la constitution d’une identité standard pour le guaraná de Maués

Abstract

The region of Maués, in the Brazilian Amazon, is known as the « Land of guaraná », a plant cultivated for the energizing virtues of its seeds and native from there. Today guaraná is the subject of appropriation attempts by different local economical actors- among which research institutes or agro-industrial firms- but also more recently by new actors, in order to support the local populations who claim expertise on the plant. We analyze two regional strategies aimed at valorizing guaraná (renovation of the genetical material and demand for a geographical indication) which seemingly follow contradictory agricultural paradigms, from the perspective of the plant qualification criteria they rely on, and the actors they mobilize. We show that the use of a GI doesn’t guarantee at all the valorization of local biological and cognitive resources, while a new socio-technical object – cloned guaraná- takes shape in the processes.

Keywords

• territory
• Brazilian Amazon
• natural resources
• guaraná
• agricultural models
• qualification