RTS encourages sustainable family agriculture

Generating employment and income, preserving the environment and eradicating poverty. These are some of the objectives of the project called Produção Agroecológica Integrada e Sustentável – PAIS (Sustainable and Integrated Agro-ecological Production), a partnership among Rede de Tecnologia Social – RTS (Social Technology Network), Sebrae, Banco do Brasil Foundation, and Ministry of National Integration.

In an event simultaneous with the Instituto Ethos’ 2007 International Conference, RTS presented an alternative project of sustainable agriculture that is ecologically correct and financially viable.

Currently, around 1,080 families from the four corners of the country take part in the project.

PAIS’ social technology drew inspiration from the experience of small producers that decided to use a type of agriculture without toxic products. “Integrating simple techniques often familiar to many rural communities, the model seeks to reduce the dependence on input from outside the property, diversify production, make efficient and rational use of water resources, reach sustainability in small farms, and produce in harmony with the natural resources”, explains Aly Ndiaye, agronomist of UFRJ and one of the project designers.

According to Ndiaye, the idea is to create an agro-ecological yard, that is, to build a circular garden and install a hen party in its center. The garden’s soil preparation shall be enriched with organic waste material from the composting, main source of nutrients for plants in this process. According to an economic analysis based on a Teresópolis (RJ) unit model, the implementation cost is around R$ 3,526.70. Monthly earning is R$ 517.35, with 43% profitability.

According to Sebrae technicians, the main obstacle to expanding the project is finding partners to invest in equipment purchase, even though the costs are low. “The project is cheap because it uses low-cost technology and has a production system structured in the shape of concentric rings, each one set for a specific culture that complements the next one”, explains the agronomist.