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Taylor Brady
10/04/10

Scaling Sustainability

If every denizen of the developed world were to consider where the food that they eat

every day comes from, they might be surprised. Bananas from Guatemala, soy beans from large

plantations in southern Brazil, beef from the same area. The issue is, though, that many people

do not even ponder those origins in the first place. Either because of the extensive research

required, or because of an inability to comprehend a culture and a language foreign to their own,

food consumers in the developed world have developed a mental disassociation between food

and source life/region. Regardless of the reason, food consumption in developed countries such

as the United States has become, if not nearly impossible to sustain long-term, at least

destructive to natural and human communities in the nations from whom they import.

A solution to this issue might be the propagation of agroforestry schemes in tropical

regions such as the Amazon basin. Agroforestry, broadly defined, is any agricultural scheme in

which at least one species of woody plant grows in and amongst the crops which the agroforester

harvests. Under this definition fit models as varied as shade-grown coffee, to dispersed fruit tree

harvesting in active rainforest. To test the effectiveness of such models, this paper will explore

the process of harvesting Brazil nuts in Madre de Dios, Perú, and compare it to agroforestry in

the Marowijne district of eastern Suriname. Because of the success of the latter, it seems that

agroforestry, in tandem with population center development, can be scaled to serve entire

districts within nations like Perú and Suriname. Further, extractive forest product commerce,

when diversified into multiple crops, can provide long-term employment for people within these

districts.
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Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) harvesting is already an established industry within the

region of Madre de Dios, Perú. Harvesters have long since recognized that two species of

animals within the rainforest are critical to the reproduction of these trees. Female Euglossine

bees are in the only genus which pollinates the flowers of the tree, and the activity of the agouti

(Dasyprocta sp.) in hoarding seeds underground and promptly forgetting the location of some of

the buried food is critical. Agoutis are also the only rodent which can break open the iron shell

of the seed pod to disperse the embryos within. Healthy populations of these animals, and

indeed of stands of Bertholletia excelsa, are dependent on intact rainforest forest with other plant

and animal species surrounding the symbiotic trio. In this way, harvesting of Bertholletia

excelsa must be, and is already carried out as agroforestry.

Some 15,000 people are employed (MacQuarrie) in the regional industry, and more than

half of the population benefits from the production of brazil nuts. For example, those not

employed in harvesting, transporting, or processing the nuts may sell the products in their small

stores. Stands of brazil nut trees, and the buffer rainforest kept intact to sustain their harvest,

have saved over 1.5 million hectares (Peres, Baider, Zuidema, Wadt) from deforestation in the

region. Some people are employed their whole lives in this industry, and the steady source of

income is a welcome anomaly in a country where 34.8% of the population is poor and 11.2%

extremely so (Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Nota de prensa).

Yet, the survival of this industry faces demographic threats. Primarily, brazil nuts are

still considered a luxury good, and their market share of global nut consumption is only 2%.

Since its niche in the market is minor, the product is subject to volatile prices.

Further, those who harvest brazil nuts must diversify. Over the course of a year, revenue

from brazil nut harvesting can not serve as a sufficient living wage. To supplement this income,
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some castañeros (brazil nut harvesters) take to agriculture or to small-scale factory employment

far from the rainforest. But employment is not the only area in which diversification would

benefit the brazil nut industry.

In a study published in Science magazine in 2003, Peres, Baider, Zuidema, and Wadt

asserted that persistent harvesting of brazil nuts led to decreased biodiversity in stands and

significantly diminished portions of juvenile trees as well. The table below (Figure 1)

demonstrates the exponential decrease of juvenile trees in a stand of brazil nut trees as intensity

of harvesting increases.

Figure 1: Proportion of Juvenile Trees in a stand of B. excelsa

Unharvested (n=5 Lightly Harvested Moderately Persistent Collection

stands) (n=10) Harvested (n=5) (n=3)

31-76% 10.6-47% 3.8-25% 0.7-1.6%

The research concluded that, as a result of the low proportion of juvenile trees in the stands, the

rates of harvest were unsustainable because there was neither sufficient population increase nor

genetic diversity within the population to continue regenerating a healthy system (Peres, Baider,

Zuidema, Wadt). Some other research, such as that conducted by Escobal and Uldana (2003)

draws a different conclusion from similar information about population, however, the fact

remains that the harvest of brazil nuts would benefit from a diversification into other readily

available resources. Castañeros are only able to generate about 65% of their annual income from

the harvest of brazil nuts, mainly because the harvest of brazil nuts only lasts for five or six

months during the rainy season. Were castañeros to harvest a wider variety of non-timber forest

products, they could generate not only a greater income, but one which would stay more constant

throughout the course of an entire year.

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An example of an agroforestry experiment that has worked well in recent years comes

from the Marowijne District in eastern Suriname, near Cottica. This project, funded by the

Department of Agriculture of Suriname’s federal government, facilitated the creation of small

agroforestry industry on a family-by-family basis, often only having to loan $250 per family.

With research into the effectiveness of traditional agricultural methods of the region, the

government was able to smoothly integrate the project into local lifestyles while still securing a

high chance of success.

Maroon communities in this area of Suriname are an ethnic mix of the descendants of

African slaves and indigenous groups who lived in what is now Suriname prior to the arrival of

Westerners. Their agricultural practices have, for centuries, been some form of agroforestry.

First, a family or larger group within a community would clear some of the vegetation on a plot

of forested land. For a period of one to three years they would plant and harvest multiple crops

on about 0.25 hectare plots of semi-cleared forest, and then leave the spot in fallow for 15 years

as they rotated through an area. Populations were thus able to live within a relatively small

radius and sustain themselves with fertile, still-forested land. When the project was proposed,

the department researched this history in depth in order to emulate the effective system.

One critical element of agro-forestry in these areas is the diversity of crops harvested.

Trees introduces were planted both for fruit and for timber. Men would tend to plantains,

podosiri, pomtayer, and, more recently, cassava, all within one plot. Since they also maintained

forest cover and vegetation, Maroon communities were also able to hunt game or raise healthy

livestock. Effective management of creeks and streams ensured vibrant fish populations.

Altogether, these practices made the communities self-sufficient in food production.

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The chart below (Figure 2) gives a thorough coverage of most common crops and food

sources and when their respective harvest seasons are.

Figure 2: Yearly calendar of availability of subsistence crops and products in the interior

(Cottica area)

Months
Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

food availability
Abundant supply
Sufficient supply Xx xx Xx
Insufficient supply XX XXX XXX

Harvest period of products

Cassava/taro X X Xx x x xX X X x x x X
Rice XXX X XXX XXX
Sweet potato XX xx xxX XXX XX
Napi xxX xxX XXX XX
Chinese tayer/dasheen XXx xxx XXX xx XX XXX XXX

Peanuts xxX XXX XX

Oils (including palm oil) XXX XXX XXX

Vegetables XXX xx xx XXX xxx xxx x XXX

Fish xx xx xxx xx xx x x xx xxx xx xx
Meat from domestic animals Y

Meat from game n.a.

Fruits XX xx XX XXX XXX xx
Source: MINAGR, 2004
N = not applicable where production is for pure subsistence purposes; Y= whole year; n.a. = not available
X = peak period of harvest; x = little peak period or small harvest

Because a diverse array of crops is harvested, and their seasons are staggered across an entire

calendar year, workers in these communities have at least (and almost always more than) 200

days of labor per year (Marowijne Report). 200 working days per year is the critical metric for

earning a living wage in subsistence industries. Counting this as full employment, this has the

potential to raise employment from the national average of 75% to 90% in this district. With a
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population of only ~25,000 (Marowijne Report), the scale of this project was more than enough

to sustain Marowijne. In 2005, the project put forth US$2,080,000.00 for these agroforestry

schemes, and further research into resource management in the area and the entire country.

Many challenges still remain, though. Surinamese governance is notoriously corrupt, and

the wealthiest sector of society controls nearly all public offices. The chance of all of this

funding reaching the intended communities without some of it lost to embezzlement is minimal.

Infrastructure improvements are necessary to facilitate the transport of surplus goods to market.

Currently, this area of Suriname has an outdated road system that was originally constructed for

timber extraction and is now degraded and insufficient. Finally, the allure of more lucrative, and

sometimes illegal employment, looms. Clear-cutting timber extraction by Chinese companies

pays well, as does mining, and cocaine smuggling is rampant. However, the Cottica area

officially terminated all bauxite mining in 2006 (Marowijne Report) in a further attempt to

protect their natural resources.

On a larger scale, it is difficult to conclude whether or not agroforestry, a significantly

lower impact form of agriculture than monoculture plantations, could survive economically. As

convention exists in the developed world, consumers are accustomed to and demand consistent

products all year-round, which in the case of bananas, mangoes, rice, soybeans, brazil nuts, and

more, come from tropical monoculture. Expecting a major paradigm shift in the way those

consumers demand food and where it is grown is so unrealistic that it may be considered out of

the question. However, with greater local self-sufficiency in production of food, and more

population concentration in urban or suburban centers, the food and income security of millions

on the developing world could be achieved. As stated by Vandermeer and Perfecto in Breakfast

of Biodiversity, when people have food and job security, and a vested interest in their own land,
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they are not going to deforest because they have no incentive to. Applying this model to districts

like Madre de Dios in Perú and Marowijne in Suriname, extractive forest industries must be

integrated into seasonal cycles and diversified to include a number of crops or products which

can be readily extracted in sufficient quantities for consumption and local sale throughout the

year and throughout the lives of the millions that they could serve.
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Works Cited

1. Vandermeer, John and Ivette Perfecto. Breakfast of Biodiversity. Food First Books: Oakland,

California, 2005.

2. MacQuarrie, Kim. Where the Andes Meet the Amazon: Peru and Bolivia’s Bahuaja-Sonene

and Madidi National Parks. Francis O. Patthey and Sons: Barcelona, 2001.

3. “Appraisal of the Food Security, Nutrition, and Income Generation Situation of Selected

Maroon Communities in the Cottica Area, District of Marowijne, Suriname, July 2004”

(Ministry of Agriculture of Suriname, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in

Agriculture)

4. “Demographic Threats to the Sustainability of Brazil Nut Exploitation” (C.A. Peres, C.

Baider, P.A. Zuidema, L.H.O. Wadt: Science, 2003)

5. “Are Non-Timber Forest Products the Antidote to Rainforest Degradation? Brazil Nut

Extraction in Madre de Dios, Peru.” (J. Escobal, U. Aldana: World Development,

2003)

6. “Participatory Domestication of Agroforestry Trees: an Example from the Peruvian

Amazon” (John C. Weber, C.S. Montes, H. Vidaurre. I.K. Dawson, A.J. Simons:

Development in Practice, 2001)