Useful species and design of biodiverse agroforestry systems in the semi-arid Bahia: the experience of the EFA Mãe Jovina

Abstract

Agricultural production in the Brazilian semi-arid region is severely limited by the region’s severe
water deficit, imposing specific strategies for family agroecological agriculture. In this sense,
the Agroforestry Project in the Sertão was implemented in the School of Agrarian Family Mãe
Jovina (Ruy Barbosa - BA), with the objective of qualifying, strengthening and expanding the
work of Living with the Semi-Arid with the local youths, through the implantation and management
of biodiverse successional agroforestry systems (SAFs). Over the last three years, SAFs
have proven to be an important tool for increasing the resilience of local productive systems to
drought, promoting protection and conservation of soils, increasing their water efficiency and
the ecological functionality of agroecosystems. Through the Project, it was also possible to
identify strategic species and to propose designs of SAFs applicable to the production of food
and fodder for the Brazilian semiarid.