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By Maria Geane Magalhães, 2024 Dryland Restoration Steward, and Pedro Alace Santos, CDKN climate justice awardee
Agroforestry systems have been increasingly pointed out as a viable alternative to the extractivist paradigm represented by large-scale agribusiness in Brazil.
We are Maria Geane Magalhães and Pedro Alace Santos, two young people committed to the sustainable development of our country. We joined forces to reflect on the reality of the agroforestry movement in two Brazilian biomes where we push for ecological land management.
One is the Amazon, which is widely recognized as one of the most important tropical forests in the world, located in the north of the country, and the other is the Caatinga, a semi-arid ecosystem much less discussed at international level, located in northeastern Brazil.
When reflecting on the adoption of agroforestry in such different biomes, we were quickly reminded that agroforestry systems are not homogenous solutions that can be applied uniformly to different ecosystems.
In fact, their power as an alternative to protect biodiversity lies in the adaptation of agroforestry principles to local circumstances and ecosystems.
In a Brazilian context, agroforestry systems initially emerged as ancestral technologies among Indigenous, Quilombola and riverine communities, who developed their practices empirically and intuitively.
In seeking to establish productive systems that respect the environment and local biodiversity, as well as to protect food security and sovereignty, local communities co-created complex planting practices adapted to local circumstances.
They did this independently — long before the scientific or academic development of agroforestry as a discipline.
These agroforestry systems are characterized by natural resource use and management practices in which forest species are used in productive arrangements with agricultural crops.
By adopting agroforestry practices, farmers can not only improve the productivity of their land but also contribute to environmental conservation and long-term sustainability.
Agroforestry can also coexist with animal husbandry in the same area, facilitating ecological interactions that strengthen soil health. The combination of crop diversity and organic matter, which is essential for the application of agroforestry systems, is fundamental to the functioning of biogeochemical cycles by fixing carbon in the soil.
In Brazil, it’s paramount to ensure soil fertility and retain water in these soils, especially in times of water crises and with the expansion of forest fires affecting most of the country.
In our territories in the Amazon and Caatinga, agroforestry systems are alternatives for producing food and fodder in harmony with nature. Unlike monocultures and industrial farming practices, agroforestry seeks to preserve native plant, animal and fungi species.
Agroforestry systems focus on the health of soils and people, thus contributing to increasing the resilience of ecosystems. They maintain microbial activities in the soil by preventing erosion and helping soils recover from disturbances such as fires, floods, pests and diseases.
This practice is essential for the restoration of our ecosystems, as advocated by agroforester and agricultural technician Gean Bastos, who works in Quilombo Lagoas in the Caatinga:
“Agroforestry systems can regenerate the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soils, implanting key species adapted to the region, such as aroeira, jucá, ypê umbuzeiro, palma, maniçoba, camaratuba, canafístula, ata and seriguela. This creates a biodiverse environment and restores balance to the environment.”
In addition, in our experience, agroforestry systems offer a viable way to ensure the food security and sovereignty of our communities, offering a proven alternative to monocultures.
This search for alternatives is particularly important for our country, given that Brazilian biomes daily lose ground to deforestation, most of which is caused by the advance of monocultures and livestock.
These activities, which are linked to the socio-economic complex of agribusiness, are carried out by large corporations that seek to exploit our soils for the production of commodities and the unequal enrichment of a small economic elite.
Due to its unique characteristics, the Caatinga, an exclusively Brazilian biome, presents an important case study for the advancement of agroforestry and restoration in the country.
Despite the socio-economic and climatic challenges that contribute to its destruction, the Caatinga continues to be a space with a rich diversity of plant and animal species and an area of great productive potential.
Unfortunately, around 46 percent of the Caatinga’s original vegetation has already been deforested. This highlights a conflict over land ownership between landowners, who are focused on industrial agriculture and large infrastructure projects, and family farmers, who seek to build diversified food systems based on production on smaller plots of land.
As in most of the world, small family farmers are most affected by this tug-of-war in Brazil. This highlights the urgent need to adopt the new paradigm of agroforestry for land management in the Caatinga that allows for both social inclusion and ecosystem preservation.
Local producers are increasingly embracing this alternative as they seek to transform the relationship between their communities and their territories, as mentioned by farmer Manoel Aragão, from Quilombo Lagoas in the Piauí Caatinga:
“The initiative to adopt agroforestry is aimed at producing healthy food and preserving the plants of the Caatinga, as well as conserving the soil so that it remains productive.”
Similarly, in the Amazon, land conflicts are evident on a daily basis, with the escalating devastation of the forest for the expansion of agribusiness and mining.
This is where agroforestry systems come in. In the Amazon, these are generally understood as simulations of the natural arrangements of native forests, which are naturally diverse and highly productive. In addition to representing a path to sustainable development and ecosystem conservation, Amazonian agroforestry is mainly carried out by families to earn their livelihoods and to produce food for their own consumption.
There are various management strategies to optimize the resources and ecosystem services of the Amazon. Due to the extent and complexity of the biome, agroforestry must also be adapted to the specificities of each subregion.
In both the Caatinga and the Amazon, one of the main strategies to conserve our biomes and build sustainable livelihoods is to diversify production arrangements.
This awareness is widespread among agroecological producers working with agroforestry within Quilombo Lagoas in the Piauí Caatinga, as advocated by farmer Nadir Santos Marques:
“Planting agroforestry systems can save animals and plants at risk of extinction, conserve existing plants in the Caatinga and produce diversified food.”
In both territories, agroforestry can also mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. This is the case in both the Caatinga, which is a naturally semi-arid biome, and the Amazon, which, despite its hot and humid climate, has also been experiencing periods of drought, extreme temperatures and deregulation in the distribution of rainfall.
The effects of the environmental crisis are already being felt in our territories, making it difficult to transition to agroforestry. Deise Alves, a farmer in Agrovila Itaqui in the Amazonian state of Pará, explains the impact of the climate crisis on farming:
“Currently, my main difficulty is the climate issue, mainly because there is little rain. The water that comes is not enough, and this hinders the development of plants and the growth of production on the property.”
The model of agroforestry, as well as agroecological practices, also present options for young farmers to remain in their communities.
Rural youth in the Caatinga, the Amazon and all other Brazilian biomes are under constant economic pressure to migrate to cities due to the growing expansion of highly mechanized industrial agriculture, which is creating fewer and fewer jobs for young people.
By valuing local cultures, diversifying crops and increasing incomes from family farming, agroforestry can emerge as an important strategy for allowing young rural people to stay in their communities by providing farmers with greater opportunities to generate income.
This potential, however, is hindered by the lack of public policies to encourage the implementation of agroforestry systems, such as rural credit and the little to nonexistent technical assistance and rural extension services to meet the demands of these communities.
On the other hand, large-scale agribusiness has always been subsidized by the Brazilian government under the pretext of ‘development.’ As an example, in 2024 alone, the federal government allocated over BRL 400 billion (USD 72.9 million) for rural business financing, while smallholder farmers only received around BRL 85.7 billion (USD 15.6 million).
Conventional farming practices have historically been dominant in Brazil, shamelessly carried out by landowners with the excessive use of machinery and pesticides to produce cash crops for export.
In contrast, ecological agricultural practices such as agroforestry offer alternatives to the destruction caused by agribusiness.
In the context of the global climate, political, economic and social crisis, this agroforestry alternative is not only viable, but urgent.
Agroforestry systems play an immeasurable role in regenerating degraded areas, maintaining forests and keeping people in the countryside producing food.
But Brazilian biomes such as the Amazon and the Caatinga have been epicenters of environmental destruction – and they’re crying out for stronger restoration strategies and the transformation of agro-ecosystems.
Through community-led agroforestry actions and the implementation of public policies to safeguard the Amazon and Caatinga, agroforestry systems have the potential to save the future of our territories.
Globally, we believe an agroforestry revolution is needed to defend the planet’s biodiversity and produce and fairly distribute healthy food.
Agroforestry is more than an alternative. It’s our collective hope for better days for farmers in Brazil and around the world.
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