Technology and policy breakthroughs

“Best bet” Land-use Systems

Country reports

Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn in Brazil

Impact: Local Action, Global Lessons

Unique id: IDAW4AYB

Source file: D:\Projects\ASB\ASB Country and Thematic reports\Brazil country report\ASB Brazil Summary Report.xml

Authors: S. Vosti, C. L. Carpentier, J. Witcover, . Carvalho dos Santos, E. Muñoz Braz, J. Ferreira Valentim, S. J. de Magalhães de Oliveira, C. Palm, F. de Souza Moreira, A. Cattaneo, A. Gillison, A. Mansur Mendes, V. Rodrigues, T. C. de Araújo Gomes, M. V. Neves d’Oliveira, E. do Amaral, S. Fujisaka, C. Castilla, T. Tomich, D. Bignell, D. Gonçalves Cordeiro, A. Hermes Vieira, R.S. Correira da Costa, M. Faminow, M. Locatelli, M. Swift, S. Weise, M. van Noordwijk, N. Sampaio, I. L. Franke, H. J. Borges de Araujo, L. M. Rossi, E. Barros, B. Feigl, S.P. Huang, J. Cares, C. Pinho de Sá, . Carneiro, P. Woomer

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Supported by ASB, Embrapa scientists have taken the lead in finding ways of striking the much-needed balance between agricultural development, poverty reduction and environmental protection. While Embrapa has continued its research on the economics of traditional agriculture on cleared land, it has expanded its work on the development and testing of new technologies to include those that can be practised on forested lands, reflecting increased awareness that adding value to the forest is fundamental to saving it. In addition, Embrapa has broadened its focus from crops and practices imported to the region from other areas of Brazil, such as upland rice and bean production, to those involving native species, primarily woody perennials. Examples include the cultivation of Pimenta longa, a native bush containing important essential oils used in the manufacture of perfumes and biodegradable pesticides. Research on these emerging products focuses not only on sustainable cultivation but also on post-harvest processing and marketing issues.

Given the demonstrated attractiveness to local smallholders of dual-purpose cattle ranching, Embrapa is also leading special efforts to make these systems more agronomically sustainable, with the intention of limiting the need and incentives to expand pasture land. For example, research on the use of solar-powered electric fences for managing pastures and cattle herds is under way with the Ramal da Enco farmers’ association in Acre. Preliminary results suggest that pasture carrying capacity can be increased and pasture life extended by using these fences, which are relatively inexpensive to establish and maintain (Valentim et al., 2000 and personal communication). To take another example, new legumes (e.g. perennial peanut, Arachis pintoi) are being tested to replace tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides), which does not persist under intensive grazing with stocking rates above 2.5 animal units per ha.

Embrapa’s contribution to local, state, regional and national policy debates has also been strengthened, allowing it to offer more concrete policy advice on a broader array of issues and to help avoid costly policy mistakes (Valentim and Vosti, forthcoming). In most cases, the mechanisms for Embrapa’s input into policy making predate its collaboration with ASB, but it was the ASB programme that helped bring policy implications to the forefront in research design and that seeks to extract policy-relevant lessons from all research projects. The predictive power of the household and economy-wide models developed by ASB has given Embrapa a more credible voice in policy debates. The following are examples of the types of policy debate to which Embrapa is contributing.

Land use zoning was undertaken during the early period of modern occupation in Acre and the resulting recommendations appear in Figure 26a. At that time, much of the state’s land was deemed suitable for nearly any type of agricultural pursuit, on any scale. An Embrapa-led re-evaluation of land use potential (carried out with some ASB assistance) revealed a very different set of land use options, this time highlighting the limits to traditional large-scale agriculture and the major role that small-scale farmers, agroforestry and forestry should play (Amaral et al, 2000; Figure 26b). This updated land use assessment is one of the cornerstones of state development planning and policy making today.

Figure 26. Impact of Embrapa and ASB in changing land use recommendations, 1970s (a) and 1999 (b).

Source: Amaral et al (2000)

A separate set of Embrapa-led land use zoning exercises has helped identify large areas where subsoil impediments to drainage are causing the death of Brachiaria brizantha pastures (Valentim et al, 2000). Research is underway to identify replacement grasses for this very commonly used species.

Embrapa is routinely asked to provide suggestions for targeting subsidized agricultural credit in the region. In Rondônia, Embrapa studies on the constraints to small-scale coffee and milk production have resulted in increased support (both technical and financial) for farmers wanting to engage in these activities but unable to do so because of labour, credit and technology constraints. On the basis of results of collaborative research, Embrapa has now proposed that farmers or farmer cooperatives planning to implement small-scale managed forestry schemes be eligible for special credit from a fund managed by the Amazonian Regional Bank. Ongoing studies of agroforestry systems are attracting increasing attention to these promising best bet LUS, which can provide both global environmental services and poverty reduction.

In May 1999, the Federal Government of Brazil and the State Government of Acre organized a workshop involving government and non-government organizations and representatives of the private sector to discuss a ‘Positive Agenda for the Brazilian Amazon’, aimed at addressing growth, poverty and environmental issues. Embrapa was asked to provide the scientific and technical basis on which regional and state-level policies could be developed. Research results, methods and experiences emerging from the collaboration with ASB greatly assisted Embrapa in this task. The most important proposals to emerge from the workshop were:

to seek to decrease deforestation rates in Acre;

to establish a targeted amount of cleared land, initially set at 14% of total state area, to be reached by the year 2020; and

to establish policy disincentives to convert forest for agricultural purposes and policy incentives to reclaim degraded land and increase the efficient and sustainable use of forests.

Although it attracts less attention now than in the past, the formal colonization process in the region still continues, albeit on a much smaller scale than in earlier decades. The problems of where and how to settle smallholders and what sorts of support are required to increase their chances of success remain. Supported by ASB research results and tools, Embrapa is changing the way colonization projects are conceived and implemented.

For example, a settlement project recently approved for joint implementation in the Seringal São Salvador by Embrapa-Acre and other partners envisions land distribution, and land and forest use patterns, quite different to those implemented under traditional colonization schemes. In these schemes, land was allocated to farmers without much thought being given either to the characteristics of the natural resource base or to the socio-economic circumstances of migrant families. Legal reserve areas were established within individual plots and left for farmers to manage as they saw fit. In contrast, the new approach to settling smallholders pays much more attention to: (a) the a priori assessment of the natural resource base to determine land use potential and constraints; (b) the possibility that some land may not be suitable for settlement at all and should therefore be set aside for conservation/preservation; (c) the socio-economic circumstances of candidate families; (d) farmers’ participation in planning and implementation; (e) the potential for delineating legal reserves so as to ensure that continuous blocks of forest remain in or around colonization projects; and (f) the management of these reserves for the sustainable production of timber and NTFPs. This approach reduces settlement costs and, in principle, limits deforestation to no more than 30% of the total colonization project area (as opposed to the 50% allowed in traditional schemes). Embrapa also played an important role in providing the scientific and technical support needed for the federal government’s decision, in November 1999, to prohibit any further establishment of new settlement projects in the forests of the Brazilian Amazon.

Finally, Embrapa input, some of which was based directly on ASB research results and tools, has provided a sounder basis for establishing price policy at state and regional levels. For example, policy makers in Acre were contemplating a subsidy for upland rice and bean production, alleging that it would reduce deforestation. ASB/Embrapa research based specifically on model simulations demonstrated that such a policy measure would not reduce deforestation, though it would improve smallholders’ incomes. The choice was left to policy makers, but with the predicted impact of the proposed policy change more clearly articulated.