The Perspectivas de los agricultores y otros actores estratégicos sobre la implementación de modelos agroforestales en Paraguay

Agroforestry systems in Paraguay

Abstract

Research on agroforestry commonly evaluates the recovery of the biophysical conditions of the ecosystem, e.g., biodiversity and water or soil quality; however, it considers to a lesser extent the opinion of farmers and other actors involved in these production schemes. The general objective of this chapter is to analyse the predisposition of farmers to apply agroforestry models in a variety of rural farms in the municipality of Carlos Antonio López, department of Itapúa, Paraguay. Relatively simple surveys were conducted with 62 farmers from two communities in the municipality and interviews were conducted with 20 strategic stakeholders representing various institutions related to agriculture (academia, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and private companies). Quantitative data from the surveys were analysed using logistic regression in Rstudio. The qualitative data from the interviews were analysed with Atlas.ti v. 9 using the inductive approach of theory grounded in the Emergence Index (EI) and exploratory theorising based on co-occurrences in the theoretical Sankey’s diagram. It was found that the predisposition of farmers to apply agroforestry is a function, in decreasing order of importance, of educational level, land tenure and farm size. Regarding motivations, the higher the educational level of the farmers, the higher the predisposition to apply agroforestry. The major EIs resulting from the interviews to strategic actors indicated that the development of agroforestry in Paraguay is characterised by being marginal and limited to isolated cases, the near absence of public policies, incipient research, the absence of financing mechanisms, and the pressure of mechanised agriculture. It is concluded that, from the farmers' perspective, agroforestry is applicable on farms with yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) cultivation and is essentially driven by pragmatic motivations, although with very strong conditioning factors that must be overcome for this production scheme to expand.