O CULTIVO DO NIM INDIANO (Azadirachta indica A. JUSS.): UMA VISÃO ECONÔMICA

The present study has the objective of analyzing the economic yield of the Indian’s neem cultivation in two producing regions, the west of the state of Bahia and the northwest of the state of Sao Paulo. The technical index and the costs related to the cultivation are referred to the cultivated plantations in good productivity and well managed soils and were obtained by the application of questionnaires to the local producers, companies and traders of neem based products. Three scenes had been so analyzed:1) Investment on the factor land, in the beginning of the cultivation; 2) Considering the lease of the land and 3) Without considering the factor land. Electronic spread sheets had been used to analyze the costs, to determine the Internal Rate of Return of the investment and as well as for the sensitivity analysis. This last has considered the real variation in prices of the fruit of neem during the period 2002 to 2006, as well as percentage changes in total production costs. The cultivation analyzed in both regions has been considered viable from the economic point of view, with IRR varying between 15,18% to 28,32% per year. However, it was observed that the real prices paid to the producer are decreasing, which can, if this behavior continues, turn new investments in this cultivation, not viable for the next few years