Agroecology and Farmer Livelihoods: A Comparative Analysis Between Management Intensive Grazing and Conventionaldairy in Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brasileiro-Assing, Andrea Castelo Branco; Kades, Jini; Sinisgalli, Paulo Antônio de Almeida;

Resumo:

The conflict between foodproduction and environmental conservation demands alternative agriculturalpractices that can maintain or increase food production, protect and restorecritical ecosystem processes, and reduce dependence on non-renewableagricultural inputs. Deforestation in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, for which agriculturehas been a primary driver, already threatens the biome’s impressivebiodiversity and the ecosystem services it helps sustain. Many small familyfarms in Santa Catarina—located in the South Region of Brazil—have adopted theVoisin Rational Grazing (VRG) system as an alternative to conventional andenvironmentally detrimental dairy activities. Whether or not VRG is a viableapproach to sustainable intensification on small farms depends on its economicand ecological impacts. This article, which is a chapter of a PhD dissertationdefended at Graduate Program on Environmental Science (PROCAM), presents theresults of a research project designed to test economic impacts. Using detailedmonthly accounting of revenues and expenditures on VRG and conventional farms,we compare farm profitability of both systems. We found that the VRG system ismore profitable than the conventional dairy system in Santa Rosa de Lima, amunicipality in Santa Catarina. However, most farmers combine VRG with someconventional practices, which affect both profitability and potentialecological benefits. Voisin Rational Grazing in Santa Rosa de Lima is alsocorrelated with reduced use of degrading inputs, suggesting a gradualtransition to a more agroecological system.

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DOI: 10.5151/9786555502671-05

Referências bibliográficas
  • ALVEZ, J. P. Livestock management, ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods. 2012. 275 p. Dissertation. (PhD in Natural Resource). Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Resources, University of Vermont, Vermont. BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL. Cotação do dólar. 2014. Available at: https:// www.bcb.gov.br/. Accessed in: 2014. BAUER, E. Produção de Leite na Grande Florianópolis: percepção dos agricultores familiares sobre a transição do semi-confinamento tradicional para o Pastoreio Voisin. 2009. 60 p. Thesis. (Undergraduation in Agronomic Science). Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis-SC.
Como citar:

BRASILEIRO-ASSING, Andrea Castelo Branco; KADES, Jini; SINISGALLI, Paulo Antônio de Almeida; "Agroecology and Farmer Livelihoods: A Comparative Analysis Between Management Intensive Grazing and Conventionaldairy in Santa Catarina, Brazil", p. 93 -112. In: Estudos Socioambientais: Diversidade de Olhares. São Paulo: Blucher, 2022.
ISBN: 9786555502671, DOI 10.5151/9786555502671-05