The aim of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance of organic cotton and oilseed crops in combination with forage palm in the semi-arid region of Paraiba, Brazil. In the 2009 crop year, an experiment was conducted in two areas: (I) at the farm Vila Maria Rita, located in the municipality of Taperoa in the 'Cariri' region of Paraiba, and (II) at the settlement of Queimadas, located in Remígio in the 'Curimatau' region of Paraiba. The treatments, separated into individual crop and in combination (intercropping), were: cotton + sesame + forage palm, cotton + peanut + forage palm; cotton + forage palm, cotton alone; sesame alone; sunflower alone; peanut alone, and forage palm alone. The variables analyzed were: technological characteristics of fibers, yield (seeds/boll), oil yield, fiber yield, gross income and efficient use of land (UET), partial and total. For fiber yield, the combination of cotton + forage palm provided the best result (311.14 kg ha-1), while peanut alone had the greatest yield in seeds (967.00 kg ha-1) and in oil (428.02 kg ha-1). The combination of cotton + sesame + forage palm may be an efficient alternative for family agriculture since it showed positive results in terms of gross income and UET total.
intercropping; oil production; family agriculture
