SILVA, T. T.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0352014187573936; SILVA, Teresinha Teixeira da.
Abstract:
The agroforestry was first used by indigenous peoples. Nowadays, it is developed mainly in
tropical and subtropical regions of the planet. It is characterized by a mixture of trees or
shrubs in the fields of crop or livestock production, providing benefits from the ecological and
economic interactions that develop in the process. Currently, the term agroforestry has
excelled in technical and superior courses of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in
various sectors of society, and especially in rural areas. The main purpose of this study was to
compare an agroforestry system to a conventional agriculture in the semiarid of Ceará, to
determine which agricultural model has more economic and environmental viability,
performing a case study in Nova Olinda, in the state of Ceará. The differences between
conventional and agroforestry farming systems were evaluated using data collected from
questionnaires answered by two farmers who use these systems on their properties. With the
farmer that uses agroforestry, a semi-structured interview was conducted. For the content of
soil fertility in the study area, soil samples were collected. The environmental analysis was
promoted by calculating environmental performance, based on the parameters presented in the
Environmental Guide for Rural Producers. We used descriptive analysis, at which we
grouped into tables the data we collected from family farmers, taking into account the
variables of economic and environmental imprint. Data were collected between November of
2011 and June 2012. The experience of the farmer José Raimundo de Matos (Zé Artur) with
agroforestry began in 1995, when he learned it from the Christian Association from Base
(Associação Cristã de Base-ACB), the agricultural practice of planting without drilling and
without burning. At first, the farmer did not believe it, however, when he adhered to the
practice of not burning, he had very satisfactory result. The positive results provided
by the agroforestry system used by Zé Artur showed that this agroecological
practice surpasses the conventional agriculture by far. However, the farmer emphasizes that
these findings are the result of an investment in labor-work superior to conventional
agriculture, when compared to the SAF, it requires a greater amount of attention to the
production by the farmer. Besides being an example of sustainable production, Zé Artur’s
SAF has also been one of the tourist attractions of the city of Olinda. Very often, the property
is visited by students from the region, tourists and researchers who want to see closely the
success of his experience. The agroforestry is a practice that allows a better interaction with
the adversities of climate which are very common in the semiarid regions. Agroforestry
agriculture surpasses in economic feasibility, the conventional farmer, with an income twice
as high financially speaking. In agroforestry system, the physical and chemical characteristics
of the soil also positively outperform conventional agriculture. The Taboleiro farm where the
agroforestry system is developed, has a good environmental performance, while at the Patos
Farm, which uses conventional farming, this performance is low.