Design and management of a syntropic agroforestry system at Instituto Refazenda, Secretário, Petrópolis - RJ, Brazil

Abstract

The present study reports the process of design and initial management of an area of 400m²,
with an agroforestry system focused on horticulture, during its first 10 months. Through Syntropic
Agriculture, the Instituto Refazenda seeks to resignify food production and contribute to
landscape restoration. We present how the consortia were planned according to the production
objective. The design of the system was elaborated based on the life cycles and space
occupied by the different crops and tree species. Results observed in the field are presented,
based on the producers’ perception. We discuss the challenges encountered and the system
potential.