This study was conducted to examine possible impacts of the introduction of innovations by
development officers in a community of slave descendants, from the standpoint of the farmer,
as well as their views on the relevance of the activities implemented, discussing the factors
that have influenced the adoption of innovations and the consequences of these changes in the
form of land use and management of natural resources in the area. The results showed that, at
the local level, factors such as the nature of the target audience participation in the projects,
the results achieved in the intervention and the profile of the development officers exert
strong influence on the decision of the small farmer in the appropriation of a practice. This
study also revealed that requests of the services of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension
(ATER) for the studied community was, above all, a complex strategy of farmers towards
securing land tenure from the threat of „grileiros‟ who were trying to take their land. Another
conclusion drawn from the study indicates that the sustainability of local family farms depend
on profound changes in the predominant production system consisting of shifting cultivation
and charcoal production, which is clearly impacting the forest cover of the territory of the
slave descendants‟ community. A viable alternative would be the implementation of more
complex systems such as agroforestry systems (SAF's), detected by this research in a pilot
project and in isolated experiences in the community, along with the organization of
production
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