By Isabel Teles

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – In the small community of Ilha da Jussara, at the northern end of the Brazilian Amazon (NASDAQ: ), growing acai berries – a superfood known for its nutritional benefits – is an important source of income .

Production has increased by nearly 50% in the past decade, driven by a dozen or so village women fighting to secure sources of credit.

“At first, the husbands took care of the product, the production,” said Edna dos Anjos Nascimento Siqueira, known as Bezinha, as she stripped the small black fruit from the branches of the acai palm tree and placed it in a basket. “Then we, the women, started to move.”

Bezinha, now 60, grew up after her father climbed acai berry trees on Ilha da Jussara to harvest the tart fruit, which is used around the world in juices, cosmetics and supplements.

She was the first woman to participate in meetings to discuss funding to develop village businesses.

According to Emater, a government sustainable development agency, women’s participation in such small businesses is growing rapidly in rural Brazil.

By 2021, almost half of the rural credits from a federal program managed by Emater that supports small farmers will benefit female producers, it said.

The initial investment in projects like acai in Ilha da Jussara is about 20,000 reais ($3,300), said Lucival Solim Chavez, an agronomist at Emater.

“After that, the land is financially self-sustaining,” he said.

More broadly, acai berry production in Brazil is expected to grow by 15% between 2020 and 2023, according to government statistics. The state of Para, where Ilha da Jussara is located, accounts for 94% of the country’s output, and is a leading exporter of fruit to food and cosmetic companies around the world.

In the community around Ilha da Jussara, about 200 people are dedicated to the production of organic acai. Combined sales from communities in the area amount to approximately 1.37 million reai ($225,000) a year – more than 85% of their income, according to government figures.

During the harvest season, village families make four times the minimum wage in the region.

“We have achieved a lot,” Bezinha said. “My friends who are part of it … they have their own little house, their own little stove, their own bathroom. For us it’s a big thing.”

($1 = 6.0559 reais)