AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS COMMERCIAL AREAS OF FAMILY FARMERS IN MUNICI ?? PIO OF BRAGANÇA pari ??: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

This research aims to evaluate the commercial agroforestry (SAF) adopted by farmers in the municipality of Bragança, Pará. Present study we used a participatory and multidisciplinary approach. Rural participatory Diagnosis and Rapid Rural Appraisal tools were employed. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, with the SPSS 13.0 program. 62 experiences of agroforestry systems developed by 53 farming families in 19 rural communities of Braganza were identified. Commercial agroforestry systems have low diversity of plant families, genera and species. These systems are composed primarily of fruit trees and crops of commercial value. The fruit species Citrus sinensis (L) Osb., Cocus nucifera L., Euterpe oleracea Mart., Anacardium occidentalis L. Piper nigrum Vell. and agricultural Vigna sp., Manihot esculenta Crantz are the most cultivated and the most frequent in APS. The species Musa sp. Vigna sp. and M. esculenta, as well as fruit species E. oleracea, T. grandiflorum, P. nigrum and C. nuciferas and timber C. guianensis and Tabebuia sp., were the most interest from local farmers. The SAF, mostly, are established and managed in a traditional way and large part of the activities is performed manually. The lack of technical assistance and the lack of equipment, according to local farmers, are the main barriers to the performance of the SAF deployed in Bragança. Improving the quality of life, grow new markets, coupled with the interest in learning new techniques for the management of SAF are the main aspirations of the Bragança family farmers who have adopted agroforestry systems. The SAF therefore constitute an important land-use system in socioeconomic terms, and show great potential for family farms in Bragança, since overcome the barriers identified in this research.