Subsidization of mechanized tillage as an alternative to fire-based land preparation by smallholders: An economic appraisal of the case of southwestern Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

To mitigate the environmental and public health consequences of agricultural fires set by smallholders, developing countries have been subsidizing alternatives such as mechanized soil tillage. An outstanding example is that of southwestern Brazilian Amazon, where government-owned tractors are accessed mainly via borrowing by grassroots associations, but also via tractor service supplied by local governments. The economic feasibility of the policy was appraised with a discrete choice experiment and a critical examination of implementation issues was pursued based in a qualitative survey. The results attested that policy was efficient strictly with association-based administration and without banning fires. Nevertheless, efficient tractor subsidy was justified as an enhancement of smallholders' welfare but not strictly as compensation for a reduced right to burn. That the policy changes offered were seen as better than the absence of change was probably due to complimentary public services, such as road infrastructure, been perceived as insufficient. Two extra tractor hours per farm were enough to ensure acceptance of a half month delay in the fire season opening. In complement, practical policy failures were observed, including tractor maintenance cost fitting neither associations nor government budgets, associations lacking social capital, providing tractors in a more costly basis and not being capable to enforce contracts for hiring pilots. The attested inefficiency of a near ban on fires parallels failures of similarly severe constraints attempted in multiple developing countries and it may also harm the livelihoods of smallholders. Conclusively, although mechanized tillage is not a fast way towards a large replacement of agricultural fires, it is nevertheless recommendable if improved in its implementation and planned for a time horizon comprising many years.