A resource demand model of indigenous production: The Jivaroan cultivation systems of Western Amazonia

Abstract

This study examines the demand for land resources and agricultural production in the lower Pastaza River Basin of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Specifically, we concentrate on two territories controlled by Jivaroan indigenous groups. First, the analysis compares the structural characteristics of riverine and interfluvial cultivation systems in the region. Second, the study investigates the connections between agricultural intensity, population pressure and composition, and terrain conditions at the household level through the integration of geographic information systems, remote sensing, socio-economic surveys, and regression analyses. The study shows that although cultivation practices and the proportion between consumers and producers at the household level are not significantly different among riverine and interfluvial groups, riverine cultivators produce more intensively than interfluvial landholders. In general, the demand for agricultural production at a household level is positively correlated with population pressure and soil quality. In this region, the extent of cultivation is significantly associated with the proportion between consumers and producers along the household’s developmental cycle. These findings provide support for the view that land use intensification among indigenous peoples is similar to the dynamic among non-indigenous market-oriented producers.