The environment dimension of agroecology: an analysis of four family farmers in the Brazilian Federal District

Abstract

In Brazil and in the world, many family farmers have been producing agrotoxin-free food in an
agroecological way, increasing biodiversity and benefiting the planet. This paper is about the
environment dimension, one of five agroecological dimensions that was analysed in a research:
environment, scale, economy, social and politics. Semi-structured interviews were realized
with four family farmers of Distrito Federal and it was oberved that the four Family farms had
strong involvement with the ecological production and environmental respect. The four family
farmers related the biodiversity increase at the farm and improvement of water quality and
quantity besides the pest reduction. Those farmers also contribute with the environment conservation
by the planting of agroforestry systems, the legal reserve and Permanent Reservation
Area (APP) at their farms.