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Colonist farmers' perceptions of fertility and the frontier environment in eastern Amazonia

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  • Marcia Muchagata
  • Katrina Brown

Abstract

Colonists, unlike indigenous peoples, are often assumed tohave little knowledge of their environment. However, their perceptions of the environment and their knowledgeof natural resource systems have a significant impact on their farming practices. Farmers in the frontier regionof Marabá, Eastern Amazonia, understand nutrient cycling and the links between different components in farmingsystems. Diagrams drawn by farmers show very diversified systems, and farmers' knowledge of soilcharacteristics, including sub-surface features, and distribution in their localities is very detailed in comparison to pedologicalclassifications. However, knowledge about nutrient cycling is very uneven, even between farmers from the same area.Generally, farmers were found to have very detailed knowledge of environmental resources, but very patchyknowledge of processes and functions underlying systems, and this conforms to evolutionary models of ecologicalknowledge. Perceptions of change in soil fertility are related to the length of settlement, and are closelylinked to the presence of forest. Overall, the majority of farmers believe they will not be able to sustain cropping in thefuture, and as forest and fallow become scarce the most feasible option will be for them to move to other areas.Farmers are more optimistic about pasture, which is viewed as a more stable system, with the key to long-termsustainability being weed control. These findings imply that a high degree of information sharing between farmers andscientists is required to establish resource management strategies and social institutions to supportsustainable development strategies at the frontier. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000

Suggested Citation

  • Marcia Muchagata & Katrina Brown, 2000. "Colonist farmers' perceptions of fertility and the frontier environment in eastern Amazonia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(4), pages 371-384, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:17:y:2000:i:4:p:371-384
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1026531913099
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Blaikie, Piers & Brown, Katrina & Stocking, Michael & Tang, Lisa & Dixon, Peter & Sillitoe, Paul, 1997. "Knowledge in action: Local knowledge as a development resource and barriers to its incorporation in natural resource research and development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 217-237, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Oswaldo Viteri Salazar & Jesus Ramos-Martin & Pedro L. Lomas, 2016. "Using household types for improving livelihood strategies of smallholders: coffee and cocoa producers in the Northern Amazon of Ecuador," Documentos de Trabajo FLACSO Ecuador 2016_02, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO).
    2. Alves-Pinto, Helena Nery & Hawes, Joseph E. & Newton, Peter & Feltran-Barbieri, Rafael & Peres, Carlos A., 2018. "Economic Impacts of Payments for Environmental Services on Livelihoods of Agro-extractivist Communities in the Brazilian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 378-388.
    3. Muchagata, Marcia & Brown, Katrina, 2003. "Cows, colonists and trees: rethinking cattle and environmental degradation in Brazilian Amazonia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 797-816, June.
    4. W. Neil Adger & Saleemul Huq & Katrina Brown & Declan Conway & Mike Hulme, 2003. "Adaptation to climate change in the developing world," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 3(3), pages 179-195, July.
    5. Oswaldo Viteri & Jesus Ramos-Martin, 2014. "Principales patrones de uso del suelo como generadores de ingresos económicos de los pequeños productores de café y cacao en la Amazonía norte del Ecuador," UHE Working papers 2014_02, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Departament d'Economia i Història Econòmica, Unitat d'Història Econòmica.
    6. Caviglia-Harris, Jill L., 2005. "Cattle Accumulation and Land Use Intensification by Households in the Brazilian Amazon," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 34(2), pages 1-18, October.

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