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Agricultural intensification by smallholders in the Western Brazilian Amazon: from deforestation to sustainable land use

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  • Vosti, Stephen A.
  • Witcover, Julie
  • Carpentier, Chantal Line

Abstract

"Despite the importance of tropical moist forests for conserving biodiversity and storing carbon, forests continue to fall, because the private benefits of clearing land for agriculture far outweigh tangible economic gains from retaining forests. This report measures the financial disparity between forested and cleared land for small-scale farmers in two settlements in the western Brazilian Amazon where pastures are expanding and forests receding. Considering smallholder land use decisions—when and how much to deforest and for what purpose—the report weighs the trade-offs and complementarities among three development objectives: economic growth through agriculture, environmental sustainability, and poverty alleviation. Drawing on field data collected in the mid-1990s, it uses multivariate analysis to explore how factors such as soil quality and market access shape deforestation and use of cleared land. It introduces a farm-level bioeconomic linear programming model to illuminate how such factors influence land use over time, taking into account soil fertility shifts and exploring policy and technology options that give farmers incentives to slow deforestation without decreasing farm household income." Authors' Abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Vosti, Stephen A. & Witcover, Julie & Carpentier, Chantal Line, 2002. "Agricultural intensification by smallholders in the Western Brazilian Amazon: from deforestation to sustainable land use," Research reports 130, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:resrep:130
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Walker, Robert, 1996. "Land Use Dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 1-2, July.
    2. Walker, Robert & Moran, Emilio & Anselin, Luc, 2000. "Deforestation and Cattle Ranching in the Brazilian Amazon: External Capital and Household Processes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 683-699, April.
    3. Thomas P. Tomich & Meine van Noordwijk & Stephen A. Vosti & Julie Witcover, 1998. "Agricultural development with rainforest conservation: methods for seeking best bet alternatives to slash‐and‐burn, with applications to Brazil and Indonesia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 19(1-2), pages 159-174, September.
    4. Tomich, Thomas P. & van Noordwijk, Meine & Vosti, Stephen A. & Witcover, Julie, 1998. "Agricultural development with rainforest conservation: methods for seeking best bet alternatives to slash-and-burn, with applications to Brazil and Indonesia," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 19(1-2), pages 159-174, September.
    5. Walker, Robert & Homma, Alfredo Kingo Oyama, 1996. "Land use and land cover dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon: an overview," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 67-80, July.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alcido Elenor Wander & Cleyzer Adrian Cunha & Maria Izabel dos Santos & Rodrigo da Silva Souza & Agostinho Dirceu Didonet, 2009. "Rural Poverty and Soil Degradation: Some Evidences from a Land Reform Settlement in the Brazilian State of Goiás," Working papers - Textos para Discussao do Curso de Ciencias Economicas da UFG 010, Curso de Ciencias Economicas da Universidade Federal de Goias - FACE.
    2. Borner, Jan & Mendoza, Arisbe & Vosti, Stephen A., 2007. "Ecosystem services, agriculture, and rural poverty in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon: Interrelationships and policy prescriptions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 356-373, December.
    3. Börner, Jan & Wunder, Sven & Wertz-Kanounnikoff, Sheila & Tito, Marcos Rügnitz & Pereira, Ligia & Nascimento, Nathalia, 2010. "Direct conservation payments in the Brazilian Amazon: Scope and equity implications," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1272-1282, April.
    4. Angelsen, Arild, 2007. "Forest cover change in space and time : combining the von Thunen and forest transition theories," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4117, The World Bank.
    5. Kim-Bakkegaard, Riyong & Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl & Wunder, Sven & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark, 2017. "Comparing tools to predict REDD+ conservation costs to Amazon smallholders," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 48-61.
    6. Holden, Stein & Shiferaw, Bekele & Pender, John, 2005. "Policy analysis for sustainable land management and food security in Ethiopia: a bioeconomic model with market imperfections," Research reports 140, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Vosti, Stephen A. & Braz, Evaldo Munoz & Carpentier, Chantal Line & d'Oliveira, Marcus V. N. & Witcover, Julie, 2003. "Rights to Forest Products, Deforestation and Smallholder Income: Evidence from the Western Brazilian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(11), pages 1889-1901, November.
    8. Delacote, Philippe & Palmer, Charles & Bakkegaard, Riyong Kim & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark, 2014. "Unveiling information on opportunity costs in REDD: Who obtains the surplus when policy objectives differ?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 508-527.
    9. Call, Isabel & Vosti, Stephen A. & Boucher, Stephen R. & Luedeling, Eike, 2012. "Technology Adoption and Climate-Related Policy Evaluation among East African Smallholders: A Bioeconomic Model of the Trade-offs between Trees and Subsistence," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 125015, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Javier Alejandro López Aguilar, 2016. "Efectos potenciales de los certificados ambientales sobre la cobertura forestal de los cafetales en México," Graduate theses (Spanish) TESG 012, CIDE, División de Economía.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural policies; Small farmers; Deforestation Brazil; Land use; Sustainable agriculture Latin America;
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