Synthesis of Economic Results of Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems in Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado Biomes

Overview & Synopsis

The adoption of sustainable agricultural systems in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes is globally relevant due to the massive production of staple commodities in this region, as well as to the crucially important ecosystem services provided at the global scale. These systems represent a strategic opportunity to intensify resource uses while reconciling increasing productivity, diversifying production, and, consequently, sparing land for conservation and restoration. Additionally, these systems are an important strategy to enhance household food security and income and increase resilience to market and climate risks by improving soil quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Notwithstanding their great potential, there is limited information regarding the economic performance as well as the factors restricting widespread adoption of sustainable agricultural systems in Brazil; neither is there a comprehensive and accessible database with this information. These are crucial for farmers and policy-makers to assess these systems as alternatives to large-scale monocropping or extensive livestock, the two most representative agricultural systems in the Brazilian agriculture-forest frontier in the Amazon and Cerrado Biomes. To advance the understanding of this research agenda, we present comprehensive results from two case studies assessing the economic performance of integrated crop-livestock-forest systems (ICLF), one located in the Amazon biome and the other in the Cerrado biome. We also compare the results of these systems with those observed for a large-scale cropping system (soybean-corn) and an extensive livestock system. Additionally, authors provide detailed economic performance information for four representative case studies of Agroforestry Systems in the Amazon biome. These case studies are based on the experiences conducted by the Agroforestry Economic Reforestation and Intensification Project (Projeto Reca) in the state of Rondônia and experiences from relevant agroforestry systems adoption in the municipality of Tome-Acu, state of Para. This research was conducted by Embrapa, with funding provided by the World Bank.