No-till alley cropping using leguminous trees biomass: a farmer- and eco-friendly sustainable alternative to shifting cultivation in the Amazonian periphery?

Autor(es)

de Moura, Emanoel G. ^[1] ; Mooney, Sacha J. ^[2] ; Campos, Lorena S. ^[1] ; Bastos, Keila D. O. ^[1] ; Aguiar, Alana C. F. ^[3] ; Jewitt, Sarah ^[4]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Maranhao, Agroecol Program, BR-65054970 Sao Luis, MA - Brazil

^[2] Univ Nottingham, Div Agr & Environm Sci, Sch Biosci, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, Leics - England

^[3] Univ Fed Maranhao, Dept Biol, Portugueses Ave 1966, BR-65080805 Sao Luis, MA - Brazil

^[4] Univ Nottingham, Sch Geog, Sir Clive Granger Bldg, Univ Pk, Nottingham NG7 2RD - England

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY; AUG 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Agricultural growth is essential for both alleviating poverty and feeding the population of the Brazilian Amazonian periphery, where slash-and-burn agriculture continues to support the livelihoods of between 3.5 and 4 million people. We developed a new integrated-crop-livestock-system named ``no-till in alley cropping using leguminous tree mulch{''} in partnership with local communities, to replace shifting cultivation in the region. Although such technologies have proven their agronomic efficiency, they must also meet farmers' needs. Therefore, this study aimed to capture farmers' perceptions about how the new technology compares with conventional agricultural systems with a view to identifying barriers to the adoption of the new system. Our results indicated low levels of resistance by farmers to the new integrated-crop-livestock-system although we identified a lack of knowledge about sustainable soil management approaches like no-till systems. From an adoption point of view, this might indicate that farmers found the new technology rather complex compared to slash-and-burn and did not fully understand that it contributed to sustainable soil management. In addition, the cost of deploying the new technology was found to be a critical barrier, mainly because agricultural activity is closely linked to family-based food consumption, rather than quality improvement and value-added for sale. We concluded that there is an opportunity to replace shifting cultivation by sustainable agricultural intensification in the humid tropics. This new approach may help to overcome weaknesses which have prevented farmers from taking advantage of available ecosystem services in regions dominated by shifting cultivation such as the Brazilian Amazonian periphery. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/50305-8 - A virtual joint centre to deliver enhanced nitrogen use efficiency via an integrated soil-plant systems approach for the UK & Brazil
• Beneficiário: Ciro Antonio Rosolem
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático