Creating agroforestry in Itatiba (SP): coffee arrives
Translated from Portuguese. Original published by PRETATERRA.
Today we're going to get to know Claudia Zago's project, manager of the Chácara Cheiro de Mato farm (Itatiba, SP). Alongside PRETATERRA, we plan the conversion of an old pasture area into a highly productive and biodiverse agroforestry system with a focus on coffee, in addition to 17 other marketable species.
“I started to see sense in using this property to produce food, live together and form a very interesting regeneration system.”
– Claudia Zago
After many exchanges and a co-construction process, we arrived at a result aligned with the area and Claudia's plans. We set up the agroforestry design accompanied by robust economic modeling. “[PRETATERRA provided me] with all the quantities of seedlings, inputs, equipment, labor, the step-by-step implementation and management operations, and also, very important for decision making, estimates of production costs and revenues”.
In the project at Chácara Cheiro de Mato, PRETATERRA studied the characteristics of the area in depth, taking into account the composition of the soil, the regional climate, the physiognomy of the surroundings and commercial aspects, such as the location of the property in relation to the agricultural products market. Due to its proximity to the urban area, it will be easier to bring products to market.
We also defined the functional niches of this agroforest, that is, the grouping of species that will have an identical arrangement throughout the system. “My preference for the key plant was coffee,” says Claudia. Even though we maintain the focus on coffee, we selected some very popular secondary species, such as red guava and clove lemon, thinking about the potential added value of products such as jams, sweets, jellies and ice cream. Furthermore, for longer cycles, we chose timber species with high market value, such as African mahogany and Australian cedar. In order to increase the diversity of the current system, or to modify the composition of systems to be implemented in the future, there is the possibility of replacing species according to their functional niche, revealing elasticity as a primary aspect in PRETATERRA projects.
Furthermore, with the proposed integrative design, the forecast is an annual revenue of close to R$30,000/ha, in a cycle of 20 to 25 years, and an average production of 5 tons per hectare in agroforestry products each year. In addition to the evident economic potential, this system will also have the advantage of being able to regenerate soil, the landscape and its forest matrix.
“I was very satisfied with the work provided by PRETATERRA. Thanks!”, concludes Claudia.
The regenerative design presented seeks to bring together ecological and economic factors in its resilience, diversity and operational systematization. All the premises used create an intelligent and diverse system, improving the intrinsic qualities of the soil and, consequently, of the coffee and fruits (main products). The multiple functions of the agroforestry system will improve the resilience of plants and the intrinsic qualities of products.
