AGROECOLOGICAL INTERCROPPING WITH COTTON AND … · agroecological intercropping with cotton and...

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AGROECOLOGICAL INTERCROPPING WITH COTTON AND FOOD: AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOOD PRODUCTION AND INCOME GENERATION FOR RURAL FAMILIES IN THE SEMI-ARID REGION OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL Araújo, E. R 1 .; Albuquerque, F. A 2 .;Santiago, F. S 3 .; Jalfim, F. T 4 .; Arriel, N. H 5 .; Blackburn, R. M 6 . 1 Economist with Doctorate in Economy of Development, Director of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara (PDHC). Rua Silva Ferreira, 122, Recife PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. [email protected] 2 Agronomist, with Masters and Doctorate in Agronomy/Entomology, Researcher for Embrapa Algodão. Rua Osvaldo Cruz, Nº 1143 Centenário, Campina Grande, PB, fone: (83) 33154300. [email protected] 3 Agronomist, Specialist in Soil Conservation, with Masters in Water and Soil Management and Conservation and concluding Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering. Technical Coordinator of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara (PDHC). Rua Silva Ferreira, 122, Recife PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. [email protected] 4 Veterinarian, with Masters and concluding Doctorate in Agroecology. Planning Coordinator of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara. Rua Silva Ferreira, 122, Recife PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. RecifePE. [email protected] 5 Agronomist, with Masters in Genetics, Doctorate in Plant Production. Researcher for Embrapa Algodão. Rua Osvaldo Cruz, Nº 1143 Centenário, Campina Grande, PB, Tel: (83) 33154300. [email protected] 6 Veterinárian, Specialist in Project Management and Agroecology. Consultant of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara. Rua Silva Ferreira, 122, Recife PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. Recife PE. [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents the accumulated results of 3 years of experience in agroecological production, involving around 800 peasant families in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil. It presents the process of capacity-building focused on participatory trials and the results on food sovereignty, through greater stability in food production for the families, the expansion of feed for the animals, and income-generation through the sale of cotton in fair trade and organic markets. Agroecological intercropping with cotton and food crops permitted an increased food production for the families, fodder for the animals and a sustainable form of cotton production, ensuring greater agrobiodiversity, soil conservation, areas of native vegetation and water sources conservation. Additionally, this system encouraged new forms of social cooperation among the families in the production and marketing processes. Keywords: Agroecology, food sovereignty, intercropping, rural families. Introduction Family farming in Brazil cultivates an area of over 80 million hectares and turns over about 54 billion Brazilian reals. Of the 4.4 million rural family establishments, 50% are in the Northeast of Brazil. This segment is of great importance, since it is responsible for the majority of basic foodstuffs consumed by the national population. On the one hand, 84.4% of farming establishments in Brazil are of family agriculture and they occupy 24.3% of the area destined to agriculture. On the other, the gross value of their production corresponds to 38% and occupies 74% of rural labour (MDA, 2009). The rain-fed vegetable plot is an important agroecosystem and in the scope of family farming in the northeast Brazilian semi-arid region. It serves for the production of food crops for the

Transcript of AGROECOLOGICAL INTERCROPPING WITH COTTON AND … · agroecological intercropping with cotton and...

AGROECOLOGICAL INTERCROPPING WITH COTTON AND FOOD: AN

ALTERNATIVE TO FOOD PRODUCTION AND INCOME GENERATION FOR

RURAL FAMILIES IN THE SEMI-ARID REGION OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Araújo, E. R1.; Albuquerque, F. A

2.;Santiago, F. S

3.; Jalfim, F. T

4.; Arriel, N. H

5.; Blackburn,

R. M6.

1 Economist with Doctorate in Economy of Development, Director of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara (PDHC). Rua Silva

Ferreira, 122, Recife – PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. [email protected] 2 Agronomist, with Masters and Doctorate in Agronomy/Entomology, Researcher for Embrapa Algodão. Rua Osvaldo Cruz,

Nº 1143 Centenário, Campina Grande, PB, fone: (83) 33154300. [email protected] 3 Agronomist, Specialist in Soil Conservation, with Masters in Water and Soil Management and Conservation and concluding

Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering. Technical Coordinator of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara (PDHC). Rua Silva

Ferreira, 122, Recife –PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. [email protected] 4 Veterinarian, with Masters and concluding Doctorate in Agroecology. Planning Coordinator of the Projeto Dom Helder

Camara. Rua Silva Ferreira, 122, Recife –PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. Recife–PE. [email protected] 5 Agronomist, with Masters in Genetics, Doctorate in Plant Production. Researcher for Embrapa Algodão. Rua Osvaldo Cruz,

Nº 1143 Centenário, Campina Grande, PB, Tel: (83) 33154300. [email protected] 6 Veterinárian, Specialist in Project Management and Agroecology. Consultant of the Projeto Dom Helder Camara. Rua

Silva Ferreira, 122, Recife –PE. Fone (81) 3301-1355. Recife –PE. [email protected]

Abstract: This paper presents the accumulated results of 3 years of experience in

agroecological production, involving around 800 peasant families in the semiarid region of

Northeastern Brazil. It presents the process of capacity-building focused on participatory trials

and the results on food sovereignty, through greater stability in food production for the

families, the expansion of feed for the animals, and income-generation through the sale of

cotton in fair trade and organic markets. Agroecological intercropping with cotton and food

crops permitted an increased food production for the families, fodder for the animals and a

sustainable form of cotton production, ensuring greater agrobiodiversity, soil conservation,

areas of native vegetation and water sources conservation. Additionally, this system

encouraged new forms of social cooperation among the families in the production and

marketing processes.

Keywords: Agroecology, food sovereignty, intercropping, rural families.

Introduction

Family farming in Brazil cultivates an area of over 80 million hectares and turns over about

54 billion Brazilian reals. Of the 4.4 million rural family establishments, 50% are in the

Northeast of Brazil. This segment is of great importance, since it is responsible for the

majority of basic foodstuffs consumed by the national population. On the one hand, 84.4% of

farming establishments in Brazil are of family agriculture and they occupy 24.3% of the area

destined to agriculture. On the other, the gross value of their production corresponds to 38%

and occupies 74% of rural labour (MDA, 2009).

The rain-fed vegetable plot is an important agroecosystem and in the scope of family farming

in the northeast Brazilian semi-arid region. It serves for the production of food crops for the

family, basically maize and beans, and also for the animals through the production of forage.

Until the 1980s, mocó cotton was also part of this consortium, considered of importance for

the generation of income and animal feed; both through the sale of cotton wool (plume +

seed), and in the entrance of animals to feed on the crop residues and seed supply.

In this context, until the 80s, the mocó cotton was produced by the family farmers in their

vegetable fields in a sharecropping regime of a half or a third (payment of a half or a third of

the crop yield) with the big farmers/landowners; who in turn began the separation of the raw

cotton wool into seed and plume in the processing plants. This source of income stopped

being feasible after the change of relations between the small farmer and the plantation owner,

since the Land Statute determined that in leasing the land, only a maximum of 20% of the

production could be committed; the use of slash-and-burn techniques and the cultivation of

cotton without conservationist practices have led to a reduction in productivity; the change in

market conditions; and the arrival of the cotton boll weevil promoted the final collapse of this

model.

In this context, the non-government organization Esplar initiated in the 90s a recovery

programme for the culture of cotton on an agroecological basis. This action started with the

family farmers of Choró – CE and a partnership with the French firm Veja in the Fair Trade

sector.

From this experience, in 2008, the Projeto Dom Helder Camara (PDHC), of the Department

of Territorial Development (Secretaria de Development Territorial - SDT) of the Ministry of

Agrarian Development (MDA), in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural

Development (IFAD) and the Global Fund for the Environment (GFE), broadened this action

in the semiarid region applying the following principles: an agroecological technical proposal

based on conservation practices and management of soil fertility, strategies for co-existing

with the cotton boll weevil and other pests, allied to the production of food crops for the

families and animals; the inclusion of cotton plume in differentiated markets with value

added, according to organic standards and the forms of production (fair trade, and the organic

market); strengthening the strategy for crop-livestock integration; strengthening the territorial

and local social management of the production procedures, organic certification and

commercialization.

This action is developed in partnership with Embrapa Cotton (Embrapa Algodão) and Esplar

in 7 territories covered by the Projeto Dom Helder’s programme, together with 800 farmers.

The PDHC has responsibility for the general coordination. Embrapa Cotton is responsible for

the technical coordination in the territories of Sertão do Apodi - RN, Sertão do Cariri – PB,

Sertão do Pajeú – PE, Sertão do Araripe – PE and Sertão do Piauí; while Esplar fulfils this

role in the territories of the Sertão Central of Ceará and Sertão dos Inhamuns – CE.

According to Sidesrky et al (2010) this partnership developed by the PDHC with Esplar and

Embrapa Cotton por the implementation of this action, together with the Permanent Technical

Services (Assessoria Técnica Permanente - ATP) of the PDHC, offers an institutional

arrangement that permits a training system through trials, technical accompaniment and the

strengthening of the social management for the families; based on the revitalization of the

vegetable gardens with cotton intercropped with food and forage cultures.

Training through trials

The implementation of this action has the challenge of bringing family farmers together with

the ATP in the recovery of cotton intercropped with food cultures, for example, sesame

(Sesamum indicum); in addition to soil and water conservation practices which raise fertility,

productivity of the gardens/ fields and the alternative management of co-existing with insect

pests, chiefly the cotton boll weevil. To this end, besides the ATP, a training strategy was

devised through trials that address environmental issues, soil management, productive

processes, aspects of management of organic certification, post-harvesting procedures until

reaching the sales outlets via the firms working with fair trade and the organic market.

According to Petersen (2007), the incorporation of the agroecosystem as a unit for the

organization of knowledge, in particular, has created new prospects for the advisors to be able

to learn the thinking and strategies of the groups of farmers targeted. Among other reasons,

because it permitted the methodological focus centred on specific or one-off techniques to be

overcome, allowing them to be approached from a systemic perspective, in other words,

through their functions as mediators of ecological and socioeconomic relations in the

agroecosystems.

The training schemes allying theoretical with practical input not only bring new know-how,

but provide opportunities for sharing local knowledge and developing collective learning on

the basis of shared practice and experience.

The training schemes on agroecological consortia with cotton include agroecological themes:

strip planting, in order to contribute to crop rotation and efficient soil use, allying food crops

with industrial cultures in a proportion of up to 50% cotton; soil and water conservation

practices, such as the marking of terracing, bedding with branches etc; and the conservation of

the agrobiodiversity, among other themes. The training results in the preparation of trial fields

with intercropping for the agroecological production of cotton and foodstuffs. The use of

cotton seed and forage crops for animal feed is also an important element in the training.

The training alternates field practices with discussions, displays, videos, interchange visits,

technical accompaniment, specialist input and opportunities to discuss the practices. In

addition to the technical aspects, linked to the setting up of the consortia, it also includes

themes such as organic certification, ginning (separation of the seed from the plume),

management and organization for commercialization, among other things.

The training teams in each territory, composed of a field advisor, a field assistant from the

PDHC and a training advisor from Embrapa Cotton or Esplar, carry out territorial training in

a community/settlement of reference. Farmers-multiplying agents, ATP and field advisors and

social agents take part in this action. After this territorial benchmark training, the ATP

advisors, hired by the PDHC, replicate the modules of each course in each group of farmers in

the settlement/community accompanied. This is known as local training. The logic is the

same, i.e., the generation of know-how in the training through trials.

Figure 1 and 2 refer to the one-day territorial and local training practices, which follow the

development stages of the consortia. The methodology used is trial through practice of

knowledge, allied to the reflection on training carried out and the exchange of experience. In

the processes of collective construction of knowledge, this reflection takes on a crucial role.

(Petersen, 2007).

Furthermore, follow-up is provided for the application of new know-how in the groups of

farmers engaged with the community/settlements at local level, as well as monitoring of the

evolution of the area during the 6-month training period.

The territorial and local training follows the following pattern:

Module 1 - practice of land preparation, with staking and marking of terracing with the

planting of gliricídia saplings and bedding with branches. The opportunity is taken, in

addition to the practices to make a reflection on agroecology and sustainable agriculture.

Module 2 - composition of the consortia with planting of the selected crops in strips. On this

day a discussion in started on intercropping, the effects that one crop may cause upon another

and which contributions they bring for balance with the environment, resulting in an

understanding of the best combinations of consortia.

Module 3 – initial management of the various crops in the consortium, including thinning,

weeding, application of biofertilizer and other management practices.

Module 4 – monitoring of insects and diseases. Pest monitoring changes the way the farmer

relates to the insects, since alternative control methods are only applied when their numbers

reach control level.

Module 5 - training in the themes of organic certification, organization and

commercialization. Thinking about the constraints of organic certification and the collective

Figure 2: field training on pest management. Figure 1: training on marking terracing.

management of the harvesting and postharvest procedures, are essential factors for the proposal’s

success.

Module 6 - training on the harvest quality, another important theme is bringing back to the group the results of the organic certification, and reflecting on the issues raised by this monitoring and the measures of addressing the constraints.

Food production and income generation

The demand for food by the growing human population has intensified the pressure on

exploiting renewable natural resources and triggering processes of environmental degradation

in various areas of the Planet. This becomes particularly evident in semiarid regions where the

ecosystems are naturally fragile (Araújo Filho & Barbosa, 2000).

According to Napoleão Beltrão (2009), it is vital that the production of cotton in the

northeastern semiarid region has an agroecological footing; conserving the soils and

other natural resources; eliminating the use of chemicals and GM organisms; and not

making use of chemical fertilizers and other kinds of inputs harmful to human health

and to the environment.

The principles of agroecology may be applied in order to step up the efficiency of farming

systems through the use of various techniques and strategies. Each of these will have different

effects on productivity, stability and resilience within the production systems, depending on

local conditions, limitations of resources and, in many cases, of the market (Altieri &

Nicholls, 2003).

The expansion of agroecological cotton is based on the balance between food and industrial

crops, in a perspective by which cotton is inserted in a socially, environmentally and

economically more sustainable way. The rain-fed vegetable plot is the operational unit

adopted for shared production trials. With this unit, it is possible to produce a diversity of

food items alongside the cultures of cotton and sesame (Figures 3 and 4). The diversification

of the crops generates more stability in the family vegetable fields and a greater level of land

efficiency.

Figura 3: consórcio em curvas de nível. Figure 4: diversity of production from the

consortium.

To monitor the performance of each family vegetable plot, the monitoring of developments of

the actions and results of each family was established, and consequently the recording,

storage and processing of this data in a specifically created ‘databank’ for this purpose. This

databank manages information about the families, the area, production, adopted practices,

rainfall etc. This input is updated every month and shared with the technical coordinators of

the intervention, who use this information to make a general summary, shared with the

territories and buyers of agroecological cotton.

The databank has partial results for three years. It is possible to observe in Table 1, how the

rainfall interferes directly in the performance of the families’ rain-fed vegetable plots. It is

noted that in 2010, where the drought was severe, the average productivity of the fields was

lower. Besides the volume of precipitation, the spatial distribution is very important for this

agroecosystem in the Semi-arid. In 2011, where the rain was well distributed, productivity

was well above 2009, which had more concentrated rains. The number of families involved in

this action has grown considerably and in 2011 already reached 678.

Table 1: Evolution of the consortia between the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. Territories of Inhamuns - CE, Sertão Central - CE, Apodi - RN, Cariri - PB, Pajeú - PE, Araripe – PE.

Parameters of evolution 2009 2010 2011

Number of families enrolled 138 524 678

Number of families that produced 118 91 401

Planted area (ha) 90.32 67.41 236.74

Production of cotton plume (kg) 5,485.54 3,363.7 26,040

Average productiviy of the consortia (kg/ha) 688.60 288.44 1,058.13

Average gross value of production / ha (R$) R$ 580.96 R$ 452.46 R$ 1,506.50

Gross value of production in the consortia (R$) R$ 45,537.00 R$ 33,355.00 R$ 333,346.07

Average rainfall (mm) 1,123.22 325.81 823.52

Source: PDHC Database (2012).

In Table 1 it is possible to observe that the average gross value of the production in the

agroecological consortia in 2011 was of R$ 1,506.50. This revenue is over double the

Brazilian average of R$ 677.00 in relation to the traditional vegetable plot in the context of

family farming in the Brazilian semiarid region (MDA, 2009).

In Graph 1, we can observe that in the rain-fed plots, the maize (Zea mays) and beans (Vigna

unguiculata), occupy more space for the production of food crops, since they are part of the

nutritional staples of the family farmers in this region. Moreover, a part of the production of

maize is stocked for animal fodder and the sheaths form an important component of the

integration with livestock. The beans feed the families for the entire year and also contribute

to animal feed via the crop’s residues.

Thus the vegetable plot, or roçado, is confirmed as an important strategy in pursuit of the

farming families’ food sovereignty, in producing and stocking some of the food items that

form their staple diet.

Still in Graph 1, crops that nourish the families such as pumpkin (Cucurbita spp) and

watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) appear, in addition to crops entirely or largely destined to the

market, for example, castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum) and

peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.).

The following is a case study of a farmer from the municipality of Olho D’água do Borges -

RN, who in 2011 planted agroecological cotton, intercropped with food crops and forage

plants in an area of 1.9 ha. Nésio and members of the family looked after his vegetable plot

themselves and also with hired labour (per diem).

In relation to the expenses, 57 working days were calculated, totaling R$ 1,425.00. Of these,

3.5 days were for cultivating the land (animal-drawn plough), corresponding to R$ 280.00;

while the other days were used for the management and harvesting of the crops. In addition,

43 kg of a variety of seeds were used, partly donated by the association and the remainder

from the farmer’s own seed bank, totaling R$ 344.00; and the preparation of the biofertilizer

(R$ 21.00). The expenses totalled R$ 2,045.00.

600 kg of maize were produced in the consortium, 180 kg of beans, 1.905 kg of cotton, 190

kg of sesame, 500 kg of sorghum and two tons of forage for animal fodder. The cotton and

sesame were put in the fair trade and organic market, just as part of the maize and beans were

commercialized, and the family separated a part of these for consumption. The total gross

value of the production was of R$ 7,150.50, considering all the products from the vegetable

plot.

As shown in Graph 2, the main crop responsible for income-generation among the consortium

crops is cotton wool (seed + plume). Nonetheless, the process of aggregating value comes

from the separation of the plume from the seed, with the sale of plume with organic

certification for the fair trade and organic market.

After this analysis, it is possible to conclude that the family farmer’s – Nésio’s – net revenue

was R$ 5,105.50. This was the result of the difference of the gross value of the production

and expenses.

On the path to environmental sustainability

The development model in the Brazilian semiarid region has been based on the predatory

exploitation of wood, as an energy source, associated with extensive cattle-farming through

over-pasturing and intensive slash-and-burn agriculture. The consequences of this model can

mainly be felt in the renewable natural resources of the Caatinga, or native vegetation of the

semiarid region. Thus, drastic losses can be observed in the diversity of flora and fauna, the

acceleration of erosion processes and reduced soil fertility (Araújo Filho & Barbosa, 2000).

Associated to these factors is the problematic socioeconomic status of a large part of the

population residing in the semiarid biome of the Caatinga, without doubt contributing to this

degradation, since the exploitation of the natural resources is the main source of subsistence

for this population (Araújo Filho, 2006).

In this perspective, one of the major challenges is to ensure a management system that puts

the farming family’s vegetable plots en route for a more sustainable kind of production,

without the clearance of new areas, conserving and maintaining soil fertility.

The methodological strategy for approaching this theme with the families farmers lies in the

interaction of accumulated theoretical and knowledge on agroecological cotton and the

farmers’ knowledge on the kinds of management of their traditional roçado (vegetable plot);

seeking the generation of new input that may contribute to a reversal of the processes of

degradation that affect the sustainability of the traditional roçado.

An attribute of the agroecological rain-fed vegetable plot is intercropping in strips, with a

variety of different cultures that help in ecological pest management, attracting various

R$-

R$ 500.00

R$ 1,000.00

R$ 1,500.00

R$ 2,000.00

R$ 2,500.00

R$ 3,000.00

R$ 3,500.00

R$ 4,000.00

Maize Beans Cotton Cottonseed Sorghum Sesame Forage

(ton)

R$ 348.00 R$ 360.00

R$ 3,600.00

R$ 652.50

R$ 1,000.00 R$ 950.00

R$ 240.00

Valu

es o

f t

he

Pro

duct

ion

Crops

Graph 2: Nésio - Financial Participation per product

pollinizers, owing to the diversity of the flowers. Another important aspect of the consortium

is the minimization of the risks of losing the harvest owing to the frequent irregularities in the

distribution of rains in the Northeastern Semi-arid (Lima, 2008).

To attain the productive results and maintain the

productive capacity year by year, a number of

practices of soil conservation and management of

soil fertility are encouraged. The preparation of the

land for planting, usually carried out through the

use of tractors with heavy implements, is gradually

being substituted by animal-drawn cultivation

(Figure 5). This change foresees the minimization

of two problems encountered in the soils of plots

cultivated with tractor and tiller: 1) the compacting

of the soil and 2) the favouring of erosion. In addition to this, the use of the animal traction

gives the farmer autonomy, since he/she is not obliged to depend upon town councils or

tractor drivers with a large number of areas to prepare in a short space of time. Effectively,

late planting with the “first rains” may make the difference between producing or otherwise.

Apart from the use of animal traction in preparing the land for planting and in the crop

management and weeding during the productive cycle, the consortium involves other soil

conservation practices, such as the example of marking terracing, bedding using branches,

planting in terraces and organic systems.

Association and cooperation among farmers for production management and

commercialization

The collective management of processes is not an easy task but is vital for the success of an

action that encourages organic production aimed at fair trade and the organic market. In

“Cotton in Agroecological Food Consortia” this collective management covers procedures

from production planning, organic certification, and processing, through to

commercialization, involving farmers of various groups from different municipalities in a

given territory.

The exercise of collective participation in the management processes should take place in an

articulated manner both at local and territorial levels. To make this possible, a networking and

territorial management framework was created in the form of the Territorial Management

Group (GGT – Grupo de Gestão Territorial), which in turn, is formed of two representatives

from each farming group, who get together and manage the collective processes, and also of

advisors with the task of accompanying these groups.

The GGT is fundamentally a group that unites farming cotton producers in agroecological

cotton consortia who are associating and cooperating to coordinate participatory organic

certification, post-harvest processes, and the commercialization of the production for fair

trade and the organic market. It is distinct from other networks and forums of political

leadership that exist to debate territorial development and public policies.

Fig. 5: Cultivo com uso de tração animal.

As follow-up of this action in the field of social organization, the experience of collective

management of “Cotton in Agroecological Food Consortia” has provided the appearance of

new leaderships and a rich store of shared learning. The effective participation of the families,

both in the management of the procedures that take place in the community, and in the GGT,

in all the stages of production, organic certification and commercialization of the plume, have

been vital for these families to appropriate know-how on this new form of social organization

needed for the success and sustainability of production and market insertion.

Final Considerations

The strategy of training through trials has been successful, generating conceptual changes and

new advisory practices, not only for the farmers who take part, but also for the permanent

advisory services and partner institutions. The development of know-how through a systemic

approach to the agroecosystem, which considers social, economic and ecological aspects,

helps in the sharing and exchange of experience, provoking local development capacities and

skills.

The agro-food consortia are important as a strategy for living in the Brazilian semiarid region.

The intercropping system reacts in different ways to the irregularity of rains in temporal and

spatial terms, without mentioning the high intensities of precipitation. In this way, the family

farmer is unlikely to lose everything in a year of irregular rains. It can be observed that

consortia generate greater stability, both in terms of production and in tolerance towards

insect pests.

Market

TerritorialSocial

OrganizationInternal control system

for organic certification

• Contact with the market

• Logistics of transport and storage

• Resource management at territorial level

+ Working capital

Cotton in

plume

Processing

Association nº 1 Association nº 2

Sesame, Maize, Beans...

Association xxx

A

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

Harvested

cotton

: Farmer

Local management processes:

1 – Commission for Ethics, quality and controlS2 –

Local warehouses

3 – Product input and output tokens /kg

4 – Management of resourses at local level

5 – Information feeding for certification

Territorial warehouse

Figure 6: Representative scheme of the levels of organization

In relation to the production of food items for the farming farmers, it can be seen that the

agroecological plots strengthen this strategy, integrating with soil conservation practices, such

as terrace planting, and fertility management through organic fertilizers, crop rotation etc. It is

noted that the production in the agroecological plots is more stable, even in years with

extended dry seasons, producing more than the other ‘plots in the same community

/settlement using conventional regimes. The increased diversity of food crops produced in the

consortia is also evident.

The strategy of the systemic vision reinforced the integration of the roçado with livestock

rearing, in places taking on the production of fodder for the animals. Crops were

experimented for the purpose of forage for animal feed, such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor),

which is stocked in silos and stored for the dry season. The crop residues of maize, beans,

cotton and other cultures provide excellent pasture after harvesting is concluded.

The families’ participation in the collective management procedures has strengthened both

territorial organizations and local associations, motivated by the productive, social and

environmental scope of the proposal. It is in this empowerment of the social organizations

that lies the greatest challenge of this action. This process should be continued so that the

organizations representing the family farmers can make advances in their managerial role in

the agroecological cotton chain in the Brazilian semiarid region.

Bibliographic References

Altieri, M. A. & Nicholls, C. I. (2003) Agroecologia – Resgatando a Agricultura Orgânica a

partir de um modelo Industrial de Produção e Distribuiçao. Ciência e Ambiente, 27: 141-152.

Available in <http://portal.mda.gov.br/portal/saf/arquivos/view/ater/livros/Agroecologia_-

_Resgatando_a_Agricultura_Org%C3%A2nica_a_partir_de_um_Modelo_Industrial_de_.pdf

> Access in July 2012.

Araújo Filho, J.A. (2006) O bioma caatinga. In Falcão Sobrinho, J. & Falcão C.L.C. Semi-

árido: diversidades, fragilidades e potencialidades. Sobral: Sobral Gráfica, p. 49-70.

Araújo Filho, J.A.; Barbosa, T.M.L. (2000) Manejo agroflorestal de Caatinga: uma proposta

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