Roça sem fogo: a visão de agricultores e técnicos sobre uma experiência de manejo na Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Amanã, Amazonas, Brasil

Abstract

This essay offers a critical analysis of agroforestry extension work conducted in Central Amazonia (Amazonas State, Brazil) between 2011 and 2013 by the Agricultural Ecosystem Management Program of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute. Agroforestry initiatives were based in agroecological principles to promote sustainable use of forest areas. Central to the initiative was the proposal to establish annual fields without the use of fire—integral to regional shifting agricultural practices. In the context of international climate change policies in developing countries and multiplication of REDD+ projects (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) in the developing world, initiatives to curb the use of fire and to reduce forest clearing are ongoing in Amazonia since 2008. Our case study offers insights from the field on the relationship between proponents of these policies and local populations. We analyze how ribeirinho farmers received and incorporated the proposal to plant without using fire into local practices focusing on the preliminary results of eight experimental areas established in the Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve from 2011 to 2012. Based on field observations, reports, and interviews with farmers we describe the methods used to establish experimental areas, management practices presented to farmers during extension work, and how these techniques differ from local agricultural practices. We reflect upon the lessons that emerged from the encounter between technicians and farmers during training events, and discuss the various ways in which farmers involved themselves in experiments. We conclude that future agroforestry work should better account for these parameters and seek to understand the kinship and social networks through which farmers exchange knowledge and seed materials. Practitioners might better disseminate new practices more effectively through these existing networks. Success of ongoing activities depends on developing proposals that meet farmers’ needs and interests. Finally, initiatives should be presented as a complement to, and not substitute for, local shifting agricultural practices.