Evaluating Sustainability in Traditional Silvopastoral Systems (caívas): Looking Beyond the Impact of Animals on Biodiversity

Ana Lúcia Hanisch, Raquel R. B. Negrelle, Rafael Araújo Bonatto, Evelyn Roberta Nimmo and André Eduardo Biscaia Lacerda
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Ana Lúcia Hanisch: EPAGRI Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária e Extensão Rural de Santa Catarina, Canoinhas, CEP 89466-500, Brazil
Raquel R. B. Negrelle: Department of Vegetal Production, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, CEP 80035-050, Brazil
Rafael Araújo Bonatto: Department of Vegetal Production, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, CEP 80035-050, Brazil
Evelyn Roberta Nimmo: Department of History, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, CEP 84030-900, Brazil
André Eduardo Biscaia Lacerda: Embrapa Forestry, Colombo, CEP 83411-000, Brazil

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Caívas are traditional silvopastoral systems that occur in the Araucaria Forest biome, Southern Brazil, in which animal production and erva-mate extraction are integrated. Participatory research was conducted in caívas in the Northern Plateau, Santa Catarina State, to identify strategies to intensify pasture use and increase animal productivity. To better understand the outcomes of these strategies, a sustainability assessment was conducted in properties that participated in the research (improved caívas; IC) and those that did not (traditional caívas; TC). The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) tool 2.0.0 for smallholders was chosen as it evaluates the productive unit as a whole using environmental, social, economic, and governance indicators and is tailored for small-scale production. All evaluated indicators showed higher scores for IC properties in relation to TC. In general, the SAFA analysis showed that when evaluated as productive systems, TCs are a strategic option for rural development, as 65% of their indicators were evaluated as good. With the support of rural outreach and research and the adoption of appropriate technologies, this percentage increased to 86% in ICs. These results confirm that with adequate support caívas can significantly contribute to the development of more sustainable livestock farming in Southern Brazil.

Keywords: agroforestry; sustainability indicators; SAFA; traditional ecological knowledge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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