Diffusion of Sustainable Agriculture in the Amazon: A Time Series Analysis

该项目的目标是收集巴西隆多尼亚Ouro Preto do Oust的农场级别的时间序列数据。这些数据将用于调查巴西亚马逊地区小农的土地使用选择，并评估这些选择对该地区热带森林砍伐的影响。该项目是1996年9月开始的现场数据收集的第二阶段。在第一阶段，采访了196名农民。这些调查问题的目的是评估过去和目前政府关于亚马逊地区农业做法的政策，并调查隆多尼亚的个人土地使用决定及其对砍伐森林的影响。此外，调查试图确定是否采用了可持续耕作技术，哪些农民采用了这些技术，以及采用这些技术的决定因素。在该项目的第二阶段，将通过对这些隆多尼亚农民的持续访谈，启动一个小组数据集。该项目旨在研究居住在该地区的农民如何影响森林砍伐，以及在可持续和不可持续的农业技术之间进行选择的影响。有必要收集时间序列面板数据，以适当全面地审查森林砍伐趋势，并评估当前和未来的政策选择。这项研究是重要和独特的，因为在有关发展中国家的文献中很少找到微观经济时间序列面板数据，特别是在个别家庭收集的数据。因此，对这些数据的收集和分析将对发展中国家面临的关于砍伐森林(和相关环境问题)的经济和环境文献做出相当大的贡献，并可能有助于指导这些热带环境未来采取的政策。巴西隆多尼亚的森林砍伐的主要来源是小规模农民使用刀耕火种的农业。有充分的文件证明，如果大多数农民利用可持续农业方法，就可以大幅减少森林砍伐。不幸的是，第一阶段的分析结果发现，在1996-1997年期间，只有少数农民在Ouro Preto do Oust(以及巴西亚马逊地区的许多其他定居点)使用可持续农业。然而，第一阶段的分析也表明，随着耕作方法的好处显现，预计更多的农民可能会采用可持续农业。不完善的信息似乎是阻碍Ouro Preto do Oust采用可持续农业的主要因素之一。从积极的一面来看，当地农民组织和合作社在决定采用可持续技术方面发挥了重要作用。这些结果表明，提供关于可持续农业的信息并支持当地农业组织的国家和区域政策可以极大地促进可持续农业在Ouro Preto do Oust和亚马逊的类似定居点的传播。为了审查持续采用可持续农业的情况以及耕作技术与森林砍伐之间的关系，还需要更多的数据。时间序列面板数据将提供一个框架，以追踪影响农民土地使用决定的国家和区域政策，从而洞察该区域森林砍伐的速度和原因。

The objective of this project is to gather farm-level time-series data in Ouro Preto do Oeste, Rondonia, Brazil. These data will be used to investigate the land-use choices of small-scale farmers in the Brazilian Amazon and to assess how these choices impact tropical deforestation in the region. This project is designed to be the second stage of in situ data collection initiated in September 1996. During the first stage 196 farmers were interviewed. The survey questions were designed to assess past and current government policy concerning agricultural practices in the Amazon as well as to investigate individual land-use decisions in Rondonia and their implications on deforestation. Further, the survey sought to determine if sustainable farming techniques were adopted, which farmers adopted them, and the determinants of adoption. In the second stage of the project, a panel data set will be initiated through continuing interviews with these same Rondonia farmers. The project is designed to examine how deforestation is influenced by farmers who live in the region and the impact of choosing between sustainable and nonsustainable agricultural techniques.It is necessary to collect time-series panel data to properly examine deforestation trends comprehensively and to evaluate current and future policy options. This research is important and unique because microeconomic time-series panel data are rarely found in the literature concerning developing countries, especially those data collected at individual households. The collection and analysis of these data will therefore make a considerable contribution to the economic and environmental literature on deforestation (and related environmental issues) that face developing nations and may serve to guide future policy adoption in these tropical environments.The major source of deforestation in Rondonia, Brazil is the use of slash-and-burn agriculture by small-scale farmers. It is well documented that the adoption of sustainable methods of agriculture can reduce deforestation drastically if utilized by a majority of the farmers. Unfortunately, results from the first stage of the analysis found that only a few farmers used sustainable agriculture in 1996-1997 in Ouro Preto do Oeste (as well as many other settlements in the Brazilian Amazon). However, the first stage of the analysis also indicated that, it is expected that more farmers are likely to adopt sustainable agriculture as the benefits of the farming method are shown. Imperfect information appeared to be one of the main deterrents to the adoption of sustainable agriculture in Ouro Preto do Oeste. On the positive side, local farmer organizations and cooperatives were found to play an important role in the decision to adopt sustainable techniques. These results suggest that national and regional policies, that provide information about sustainable agriculture and support local farm organizations, can greatly increase the diffusion of sustainable agriculture in Ouro Preto do Oeste and similar settlements in the Amazon. To examine the continued adoption of sustainable agriculture and the relation between farming techniques and deforestation over time, further data are required. Time-series panel data will provide a framework to trace national and regional policies impacting farmers' land-use decisions and therefore offer insight into the rate of and reasons for deforestation in this region.