Management and labour in an integrated crop-livestock-forestry system in Roraima, Brazilian Amazonia

Abstract

Livestock production systems in the Amazon have caused substantial environmental damage. With the pressure to improve and increase production on limited lands, and the new ways of evaluating systems, farmers are looking for alternatives to livestock production. The scientific community began to promote incorporating trees as a component of livestock systems, as an alternative to livestock specialization. However, these systems were not adopted as expected. One of the hypotheses is that this alternative requires a complicated management. In this context, the objective of this study was to describe the implications for the management of cattle farms and the work necessary to include an integrated crop-livestock-forestry system (CLFIS) in cattle farms in Roraima State. To address this objective, we used secondary government data, interviews, and farm monitoring. The results showed that, regardless of the scale of production, more components in the CLFIS result in more activity differentiation, more diversification of knowledge and work, and a more complicated management. In conclusion, the adoption of a CLFIS to replace the exclusive production of livestock results in losing the flexibility and characteristics of livestock production in Amazonia. The increase in the average age and the low level of schooling of farmers and rural workers are factors that make it difficult for them to internalize, understand and adopt CLFIS. Labour and management are complicating factors contributing to the low level of CLFIS adoption by Roraima State farmers.