Agroforestry systems for family farming: formation of rural webs in Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The objective of this work is to analyze the implementation of Agroforestry Systems (SAFs) using the novelty production and rural webs formation perspectives. Three empirical cases in Rio Grande do Sul will be analyzed: ecological citriculture in the Vale do Caí; agroforestry plantations with banana in the North Coast; and the production of agroforestry systems in Machadinho. The work highlights two aspects of the empirical cases described: (i) SAFs are novelties, since the design of the production systems does not come from models generated in research centers that were disseminated to the producers, otherwise , the SAFs are the fruit of the interaction between experiences and knowledge of the farmers themselves and the fieldwork of agents of the institutions; and (ii) although the adoption of SAFs is technically feasible for family farms, creating synergies between agriculture and biodiversity conservation, the more general transformation at the landscape level depends fundamentally on the organization of all the elements that make up rural webs.