Socioeconomic impacts agroecological handling of the caatinga in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the socio-economical impacts of the agroecological handling of the caatinga, in family farms, in Rio Grande do Norte, using the Ambitec method developed by Embrapa Meio Ambiente. Seven family farms were evaluated within four agrarian reform projects in the county of Apodi, RN, Brazil. The data for surveying were obtained by applying questionnaires to the persons responsible for the farms, which attributed a value representing the changes resulting from technology implementation for each variable. After insertion of the alteration coefficient for each indicator in each farm, the impact coefficient was automatically calculated by the Ambitec sheet. For the economic calculations, besides the sales and expenses, the production destined to family consumption was considered. The average profit was of R$ 475.32/ha due to the diversification of animal husbandry, especially sheep breeding and beekeeping, with an increase of 330% in the overall revenue. The average social impact index was 5.23, with“I income of the establishment”(12.68),“Food security”(11.86),“Property value”(9.21),“Devotion and profile of the person responsible”(8.54), and Environment and personal welfare”(8.14), being the parameters having the highest contribution.