Farming production systems are in continuous changing, and constantly new exploration
techniques arise, affecting the natural resources and modifying the planted media. The
impact of a new production system technology may interfere in the agricultors’ knowledge
acquired and transmitted through generations. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the
aspects of a technical change from traditional cultivation system (slash and burn) to the
fire-free system experienced by the small farmers of Community São João (Pará’s
northeastern) and its impact over a community’s traditional farming method. Semi-
structured and structured interviews were used, as well as visits for data collection with 14
agricultors, who nine are called partner farmers and five neighbor farmers. The results
obtained were: The fire-free method changes the small farmers practice (flexibilizates time
for area preparation within the agricultural calendar, decreases the number of the work an
control from invade ness in cleared land prepared, decreases the time for the area
preparation, improves the quality of the ground -thus increasing agricultural productivity-,
changes the way they used to proceed for plantation and the work an control from invade
ness; the high cost of implantation and maintenance of the fire-free method (price for the
machine acquisition and/or use of fertilizers) is considered by the agriculturists as the
limiting factor for its consolidation; the small farmers choose the areas for the cultivation
according to some characteristics of secondary vegetation (native color, age and species)
and don’t consider types of area preparation for cultivation. Thus, this study concludes: (1)
the culture systems of the São João locality had suffered impacts due to the technological
innovation (fire-free of the secondary vegetation); (2) the preparation method doesn’t
determine the choice of the areas for the implantation of the cultives; (3) the soil quality,
according to the perception of the small farmers, is more related to the aspects and
characteristics of the secondary vegetation.
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