Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Forests Improve Coffee Crops

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 13 2010 (IPS) - Cultivating coffee near intact forests increases yields by up to 20 percent, according to a study by the Brazilian agricultural research agency EMBRAPA, whose aim was to evaluate the capital accumulated in services provided by native vegetation. The study was based on monitoring the area of Machadinho D'Oeste, in the northwestern state of Rondônia.

“We used satellite images and local tracking. Over 22 years we found that the properties near the forest preserve zones had higher productivity, better functioning, and therefore greater accumulation of capital by the owners,” explained EMBRAPA researcher João Mangabeira.

“Because family farming predominates in the area, a 20-percent increase is very significant in economic terms. The environmental services may also represent a reduction in deforestation, greater carbon absorption, and conservation of soil and water, among other benefits,” he told Tierramérica.