Using agroecological practices and the development of agroforestry, a family farming couple is restoring the landscape by cultivating fruits and vegetables in a sustainable model.
Ten years ago, the degraded landscape on a family farm in the Monte Cristo/Marmorana Settlement Project, in the village of Centro da Josina, began to be transformed by agroecology. Located in the rural area of São Luís Gonzaga, a municipality about 250 km from the capital São Luís (MA), the property, a result of the struggle for agrarian reform, occupies an area of 11 hectares and is cared for by the family farming couple Reinaldo Soares Furtado and Elisângela de Sousa Furtado, with a focus on sustainable agriculture.
“We changed our system, transitioning from conventional farming to agroecology. Today, within our area, we have many fruit trees, and we diversified our products thinking not only about ourselves, as the animals also feed on them. When we plant something on this land, we always think that we won't be the only ones benefiting from that food; that's our work logic,” explains farmer Reinaldo.
The family's agricultural model is based on the principle of restoring degraded areas with agricultural systems. The couple seeks to regenerate soil health, promote biodiversity, and improve the water cycle, while ensuring food security and generating income. The family's practice demonstrates how landscape restoration and the implementation of agroforestry can reverse environmental degradation and create a productive and sustainable system.
Unlike intensive agricultural systems, which deplete natural resources in pursuit of quick profits, agroecology integrates ecological concepts into food production. By valuing traditional knowledge and responsible environmental management, it balances food security with biodiversity conservation.
These changes in thinking about working the land and cultivation practices, with the incorporation of the need for conservation, have made the land productive and enriched the landscape. The property includes vegetable production, poultry and fish farming, and an agroforestry system (AFS) with fruit production and beekeeping. A wide variety of wildlife seek refuge there, drawn by the diversity of trees and plants found within.
Bananas, cashews, guavas, pineapples, açaí, mutamba, jackfruit, limes, babassu coconut, ingá, acerola, mangoes, and cocoa. These are some of the cultivated fruits that attract animals such as armadillos, capybaras, deer, sloths, raccoons, monkeys, armadillos, doves, tinamous, jacanas, ground doves, and others. Half of these fruits, as well as 50% of the poultry and vegetables, are for personal consumption; the remainder is for sale.
According to Elisângela, who is a babaçu coconut breaker and artisan with the Josina's de Fibra women's group, as well as a family farmer, the best part of the work is feeling good about the way she cultivates the land. Everything is done naturally, without burning to prepare the soil and without the use of pesticides. “The fertilizer is natural and we only mow, we don't use poison. We feel very good when we produce our own food, when we know what we are eating and selling to others. We know what we planted, we know it's healthy, and that it doesn't have poison. That's the best part,” she declares.
The agroecological model used by Elisângela and Reinaldo's family is not the norm in the region. Contrary to Reinaldo and Elisângela's sustainable example, some surrounding properties have given way to cattle ranching, deforestation, the use of pesticides, and predatory hunting. But the couple, who have the support of their children in developing their productive activities, demonstrate in practice how a balance between land use and nature conservation is possible.
“In our work, we are sometimes challenged about the model we promote, due to a lack of knowledge. But, over these years, we have shown that we can indeed produce in this way. We have shown that working with this partnership between food preservation and production, in a sustainable manner, is viable. When we protect and preserve, we are even benefiting those who do not do so,” argues Reinaldo.
Spreading regenerative agriculture in family farming
The agricultural model adopted by the family is complemented by the gradual implementation of an agroforestry system, a form of land use and occupation that combines fruit trees and agricultural crops. To contribute to the couple's agroforestry system, the ARCA program – an acronym for Regenerative Agriculture for the Conservation of the AmazonInspired by Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), the organization will install a Demonstration Unit (DU), a rural extension methodology that demonstrates the process of implementing agroforestry systems with local communities.
The ARCA program aims to reach other family farmers in the Médio Mearim region of Maranhão, where São Luís Gonzaga is located, with the goal of bringing regenerative experiences to other properties that are not yet fully familiar with agroforestry systems (SAFs).
“We want to show everything we’ve accomplished here and serve as an example, proving that it’s possible to follow the agroecological model, which is ideal for conservation. We are inspired by other people who do this type of work, so we also want to be an inspiration in the region. We believe in our work and in agroecology, and that’s the example we want to leave,” explains Reinaldo about the partnership with the ARCA program.
The ARCA program is implemented in Maranhão by the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN). In the region of Reinaldo and Elisângela's family property, ISPN works in partnership with... Community Association for Health and Agriculture Education (Acesa) for the implementation of the UD. The program itself is the result of a cooperation agreement between International Forestry Research Centre and the International Centre for Agroforestry Research (CIFOR-ICRAF) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Together with local partners, ISPN is implementing four Agroforestry System (AFS) Demonstration Units in Maranhão. In the Médio Mearim region, in addition to the installation of a DU on Reinaldo and Elisângela's property in Centro da Josina, in partnership with Acesa, another unit is being implemented in the Fala Cantando community, in the Bela Vista Settlement Project, in the municipality of Bacabal, in partnership with the Association in Settlement Areas in the State of Maranhão (Assema). In the Gurupi/Vale do Rio Pindaré Mosaic region, another AFS is being installed at the Rural Family House (CFR) in Zé Doca, as well as at the CFR in Itapecuru-Mirim, in the Vale do Itapecuru region.
“Our work is guided by the need to adopt sustainable practices in response to the advance of agribusiness and environmental degradation. By implementing Demonstration Units, such as the family farm in São Luís Gonzaga, we show in practice that it is possible to regenerate the soil and increase productivity, but always respecting the traditional knowledge of the communities where we work. We want these experiences to serve as inspiration and proof that regenerative agriculture and agroecology can transform the reality of family farming in different territories,” comments Ana Tereza Ferreira, coordinator of ARCA in Maranhão.
Course
As part of this process of disseminating and promoting regenerative agriculture guided by agroecology among family farmers, the first module of the course "Fundamentals and Ecology of Agroforestry Systems" was held by ISPN at the Acesa headquarters in Bacabal in October of this year, with members and others monitored by the association. The training covered the ecological principles of agroforestry systems, as well as their history and basic concepts, also allowing family farmers to share their experiences.
Middle Mearim
According to Raimundo Alves, executive coordinator of Acesa, the partnership with ISPN in implementing the ARCA program is necessary, given the encroachment of agribusiness on the territory of family farmers in the region, with direct impacts on local well-being. Acesa was created in 2006, focusing on the fight for essential rights in the fields of agroecology, food and nutritional sovereignty and security, contextualized education, health, and public policies.
“With the deforestation promoted around the communities by large enterprises, the climate changes generated by the degradation directly interfere with the local way of life and modify the agricultural calendar. In addition, the high rate of pesticide use is intensified by this advance of agribusiness in the Mearim region, but fortunately, agroecology is still observed as one of the main strategies of some family farmers in confronting the system established by agribusiness,” comments Raimundo Alves.
Acesa provides technical assistance to approximately 120 families of small-scale farmers, using agroecological methodology and following guidelines for healthy and sustainable production, in 12 municipalities of the Médio Mearim region. The family of Reinaldo Soares Furtado and Elisângela de Sousa Furtado is one of the families supported by the association over the years.
Text by Ariel Rocha/ISPN Communications Office