Agroforestry system with manioc: agrobiodiversity conservation and improving food security in rural settlements

• Grant number: 14/00313-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Flávio Bertin Gandara
• Grantee: Fábio Frattini Marchetti
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/17780-7 - Special issues on agrobiodiversity conservation, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The objective of this Project is to research manioc in agroforestry systems, looking for food security and agrobiodiversity conservation in rural settlements from agrarian reform. Study area is the Pontal do Paranapanema, west of São Paulo State, municipalities of Teodoro Sampaio and Euclides da Cunha. Ten varieties of manioc with high nutritional contents and ecological traits to adapt to SAF will be selected from germplasm banks and local farmers. Preliminarily, the varieties will be assessed in experimental blocs of shading (50% and 80% to treatment, 0% to control). Subsequently, the tests will be conducted in four SAFs with different compositions, structures and ages: two in the APTA Presidente Prudente (two and four years), and two in the rural settlements (more than 10 years). From the first results, two new SAFs will be implemented like model to household agriculture of agrarian reform. In each stage of the research, the manioc varieties will be assessed about the nutritional composition, yield and photosynthetic rate. An ethnobotanic inventory about diversity and circulation of local manioc varieties will be made with semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. Local knowledge about biodiversified SAFs and agricultural management will be researched to adapt the SAF model to the realities of the rural settlements. Nutritional and shading tests data will be treated from analyzes of variance and Tukey test (p<0.05). The ethnobotanical data will be treated from descriptive statistics and qualitative approaches, and techniques acquired during the internship abroad. (AU)