Abstract
Abstract Restoring the degraded Atlantic Forest is one of the biggest conservation challenges in Brazil. In a biome with high human presence, understanding the potential for restoration approaches, such as agroforestry, to provide benefits to smallholder farmers and biodiversity is essential in developing equitable restoration strategies. Smallholder or family farmers are essential to national food security, producing most fruit and vegetables consumed in Brazil. Their farms can also provide ecological stepping stones for biodiversity. To better understand their role in Atlantic Forest restoration, this study explores the use of agroforestry by smallholder farmers from the Movimento Sem Terra (MST), the Rural Landless Workers' Movement, in Pontal do Paranapanema. We use quantitative and qualitative data to assess farmer perceptions of the measures which support agroforestry farming, barriers to implementation and its impact on indicators of wellbeing. We find agroforestry farmers report significant benefits in 8 of 18 tested indicators. Attitudes to agroforestry are varied, but common themes emerge including the high value of tree cover for shade and cooling effects, and the difficulties in selling agroforestry products. Our results show lack of policy support and initial investment needs are the biggest constraints to agroforestry, but opportunity cost is not considered a large barrier. Tailored policies and financial measures are needed to integrate thousands of smallholder farmers into the Atlantic Forest restoration agenda, helping to reach biome restoration targets while supporting rural livelihoods and national food security. Further research is required into links between additional socio‐economic and biogeographical variables and agroforestry uptake in the region.
Highlights
| MATERIALS AND METHODS2.1.1 | Geography and land use Pontal do Paranapanema covers nearly 19,000 km in the State of São Paulo (Southeast Brazil), and is the second poorest region in the State (Chazdon, Cullen, et al, 2020; Figure 2)
Brazil is a global leader in forest landscape restoration (FLR) and ecological restoration, one of three countries believed to have reached restoration policy targets set out by the Bonn Challenge (Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR), 2019)
With millions of smallholders and family farmers across the country and prominent social and political movements linked to food sovereignty and land reform, Brazil's Atlantic Forest provides an ideal backdrop in which to explore these relationships
Summary
2.1.1 | Geography and land use Pontal do Paranapanema covers nearly 19,000 km in the State of São Paulo (Southeast Brazil), and is the second poorest region in the State (Chazdon, Cullen, et al, 2020; Figure 2). The MDSP is home to one of the last remaining populations of jaguars in the Atlantic Forest, as well as the endangered endemic black lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysopygus (Cullen et al, 2005; Galetti et al, 2013) The importance of these remaining areas of forest is well documented (Banks-Leite et al, 2014; Matos et al, 2017; Paviolo et al, 2016), as is the need to engage local stakeholders, given most biodiversity conservation plans involve restoration corridors or agroforestry plots (Badari et al, 2020) on private land or MST settlements (Cullen et al, 2005; Francesconi et al, 2014; Metzger et al, 2017). The questionnaire was designed to collect data relevant to the local socio-ecological and agricultural context, documenting household socio-economic indicators, farming activities and ecosystem services deemed to be important for the study region (FAO, 2017; Leakey et al, 2006; Palomo-Campesino et al, 2018; Table S2). These focus groups were used to record local views and learn from local actors to support interpretation of the results of both quantitative and qualitative analysis
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