Antônio Gabriel Lima Resque defended his thesis on 18 December 2020. Carried out within the framework of the Stradiv flagship project, and funded by Agropolis Fondation, his topic was "Can the concept of ecosystem services facilitate agroecological transition in the Brazilian Amazon? Results from a mixed methods approach in Irituia and Paragominas, Pará state".
Antônio Gabriel Lima Resque was supervised by Christophe Le page, Emilie Coudel and Marie gabrielle Piketty and hosted in Paris, Institut agronomique, vétérinaire et forestier de France , within the framework of the Doctoral School Agriculture, Food, Biology, Environment, Health , in partnership with GREEN - Gestion des Ressources renouvelables et Environnement (laboratory) since 01-10-2016.
Abstract
In the Brazilian Amazon, in a context marked by anti-deforestation policies, farmers are strongly encouraged to abandon slash and burn but have little knowledge about the alternatives. According to agronomists, the biodiversification of annual crops could constitute an agro-ecological transition that would benefit small producers. In this context, the project STRADIV proposes to qualify with different stakeholders -farmers, agricultural technicians, policy-makers, researchers‐ the interest and limits of the current and potential cultural practices. To support facilitation between these stakeholders, the grou of researchers involved in STRADIV will facilitate a debate in turn of the “environmental services provided to agriculture” (ESA). The thesis will contribute to this process by considering the following question: How can ESA be discussed within a multi-level facilitation process to support family farmers in engaging in an agroecological transition? Comparing the processes implemented in two areas in the Eastern Amazon (Paragominas and Irituia), the thesis will analyze the roles taken by the ESA according to the relations of farmers to their environment or their place in the political arena.