Agroforestry in the Amazon Region: A Pathway for Balancing Conservation and Development

This chapter argues for a broader conceptual domain provided by agroforestry practices as a key pathway for the reorientation of agricultural systems in the Amazon toward modes of production that combine productivity and sustainability. A contextualization of the multiple expressions of current agroforestry development in the Amazon shows that, contrasting with homegardens and shifting cultivation, ubiquitous in the region, planned or organized agroforestry systems are still minor elements of the agricultural landscape, often arising from farmers’ experimentation or resulting from initiatives funded by international cooperation. A “multichain” approach focusing on both established markets as well as “secondary chains” is suggested as a pathway for agroforestry to go beyond subsistence toward income generation and to reduce the constraints faced by Amazon farmers to intensify land use. The costs and risks presented by practices leading to intensification, aggravated by problems in regional infrastructure, limited access to adequate technical and financial services, and insecure land tenure require equitable development policies and programs to support such initiatives. A stronger policy identity for agroforestry in the region should thus recognize the provision of both economic goods and ecosystem services, and this chapter argues that given the carbon stored in agroforestry systems, the framework of environmental international agreements is an opportunity to combine environmental and livelihood benefits through the design, promotion, and dissemination of agroforestry strategies. A review of policies that can influence adoption of sustainable land use systems in the Amazon region attests their operation in a fragmented manner. These policies must be set as a cohesive whole, being agroforestry the common thread to support and link initiatives to reduce poverty and hunger, curb deforestation and CO2 emissions, and to mitigate climate change. Agroforestry will be then an effective strategy to bridge gaps between policies, and particularly in linking environmental opportunities with economic realities, while enhancing the livelihoods of smallholders, traditional communities, and indigenous peoples in the Amazon