The practice of organic horticulture in the city of Arapiraca/AL, Brazil/A prática da horticultura orgânica no município de Arapiraca/AL, Brasil

Organic agriculture is an agricultural production activity that generates food of high nutritional quality and durability. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the practice and some aspects of the organic horticulture of the municipality of Arapiraca-AL. For this, 12 properties were visited in the localities of Cangandu and Pau D'arco, located in the rural area of the municipality. In the properties, semi-structured interviews were conducted to evaluate the profile of horticulturists and theirpractices of organic horticulture. It was found that 76% of the interviewees are between 30 and 50 years of age, while the youngest (between 20 and 29years) and the oldest (over 50 years) represent 24% of the total horticulturists interviewed. As for schooling, 25% of horticulturists have never studied, 25% of the interviewees have completed high school, 33% have only the fundamental level (both complete and incomplete) and 17% have complete tertiary education. Regarding income, 83.3% of horticulturalistshave only the production of organic vegetables as a source of income. As for the most cultivated vegetables, coriander(Coriadrum sativumL.) (28%) and lettuce (Lactuta sativaL.) (23%) stand out, although other vegetables are cultivated. In addition, it was noted that 91.6% of horticulturists usually use personal protective equipment, even when dealing with organic crops. The data obtained reflect the current trend, based on the discourse of healthy food consumption, where the importance of the practice of organic horticulture is based on the acquisition of quality of life, health and wellbeing of the population.