Livelihood diversity in three land tenure systems in the Amazon

Keywords: Amazon, rural livelihoods, land use land cover change, diversification, quilombola, agrarian reform, rural development, food systems, agroecology, peasants, sustainable agriculture
Session Type: Virtual Guided Poster
Day: Wednesday
Session Start / End Time: 4/7/2021 01:30 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/7/2021 02:45 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 53

Abstract

The growing food, fuel, and climate crises heighten the importance of ecological and social services provided by agroecological peasant agriculture. As a result, there is increasing consensus over the inclusion of smallholder farmers in food production chains and environmental initiatives (i.e. REDD +). However, the process of peasant inclusion in the global food regime threatens livelihood diversity. Livelihood diversity is considered a sustainable alternative for rural households, that theoretically allows for households to make a living, without compromising the environment. Among the households that seek to diversify, the many possible combinations of activities imply that the goals and motivations for diversification are themselves diverse and allow for multiple interpretations. This paper analyzes the impact of land tenure on livelihood diversification strategies in the Amazon region. From a socioeconomic database of 340 households in NE Para collected in 2015 from EMBRAPA, this paper explains the different challenges that households in three different land tenure systems: traditional, agrarian reform and quilombola face in terms of combining agricultural and non-agricultural strategies into their livelihood portfolio.