Snapshot from the field

photo by Sarah Moore

WHAT’S GOING ON?

This is an example of a healthy multisystem small family farm project located in Bom Jesus Do Tocantins, Pará, Brazil. It shows a portion of the farm containing highly productive pasture grasses interspersed with stands of fast-growing eucalyptus. The lush pasture provides healthy sustenance, while the trees provide shade for the animals to escape the tropical heat. Under these ideal conditions, cattle and milk productivity are greatly increased.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Providing technical assistance to small family farms to achieve results like this is an important part of Amazon conservation goals. Small farmers are currently responsible for about 25% of deforestation. We’ve seen that making the existing deforested land more productive leads to a significant decrease in carbon dioxide emissions, an increase in carbon sequestration, and an increase in the wellbeing of the family.