Innovation and technological development in the medicinal plant segment in Distrito Federal, Brazil

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants has always been practiced, becoming an important part of everyday life, and traditional knowledge on this matter has been transmitted from generation to generation. The objective of this work was to characterize the profile of consumers and sellers of medicinal plants in the Distrito Federal, Brazil, as well as to identify aspects of innovation and adoption of social technologies. An exploratory and descriptive applied research was carried out with a qualitative approach. For technical procedures, a case study was considered. Data were collected from April to August 2022. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 traders, from five permanent fairs, in five satellite towns in the Distrito Federal. A questionnaire was made available on social networks and answered by 177 consumers. Most of the traders are female with 10 to 20 years of experience in selling medicinal plants, with no training, and they are unmotivated due mainly to the high renting cost of the space of the fair. About 95% of the traders purchase material from producers of other states of the federation. The observed environment does not favor innovation or adoption of social technologies. More than 70% of the consumers use medicinal plants in the form of teas, and more than 80% use them in cooking. There is a young public open to novelties. Therefore, innovations in processing and diverse ways for product presentation can increase the consumption. Studies are recommended to be carried out with family farmers in the Distrito Federal, with the aim at awakening their concern for the production of medicinal plants, which can contribute to reducing the gap between demand and supply, as well as to increase innovation in the segment, and the adoption of social technologies in the production systems.