Intervenção e exploração de recursos naturais em comunidade quilombola: o caso de Abacatal

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine possible impacts of the introduction of innovations by development officers in a community of slave descendants, from the standpoint of the farmer, as well as their views on the relevance of the activities implemented, discussing the factors that have influenced the adoption of innovations and the consequences of these changes in the form of land use and management of natural resources in the area. The results showed that, at the local level, factors such as the nature of the target audience participation in the projects, the results achieved in the intervention and the profile of the development officers exert strong influence on the decision of the small farmer in the appropriation of a practice. This study also revealed that requests of the services of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER) for the studied community was, above all, a complex strategy of farmers towards securing land tenure from the threat of „grileiros‟ who were trying to take their land. Another conclusion drawn from the study indicates that the sustainability of local family farms depend on profound changes in the predominant production system consisting of shifting cultivation and charcoal production, which is clearly impacting the forest cover of the territory of the slave descendants‟ community. A viable alternative would be the implementation of more complex systems such as agroforestry systems (SAF's), detected by this research in a pilot project and in isolated experiences in the community, along with the organization of production