Small market centers exist in São Lourenço dos Órgãos and Pedra Badejo, which act primary as commodity exchanges where subsistence farmers exchange goods as available with merchants who transport and sell goods in larger markets.

The primary agricultural productions include fodder (usually in the form of maize stalks), bananas, papayas and coconuts.

The dry-season economy is directed primarily by agricultural cooperatives, which assign stonemasonry, carpentry and other construction tasks through contracts awarded by the local governments.

The president of the cooperative acts as a de facto village headman in areas where there are no government representative.

The soil in the region is very fertile (being especially rich in iron and potash), though water is scarce in all parts of the municipality.