Sustainability of family psiculture in the Western Amazon

analysis of the impact of local knowledge

Abstract

The Green Revolution has led to an abundancy in food production, however, not without social and environmental consequences. The substitution of more democratic sources of knowledge – local knowledge – by capital demanding agricultural technologies has led to an increase in efficiency and predictability in food production. However, local sources of knowledge that subsidize rural production in small scale still endure. This paper aims to analyze the impacts of local knowledge to sustainable development, analyzing the case of small fish farmers in the Vale do Jamari region in the western Amazon, in Brazil. The region is characterized by its sizable participation in the emergence of fish farming of native species in Brazil, with production growing exponentially in the last decade. Data was collected from primary sources through semi structured interviews with farmers and technicians within the region and open interviews with multiple stakeholders of the production chain, besides technical visits. Production of native fish species is still relatively recent and with low productive technology, in a way that multiple local technologies were developed through day to day experience and shared between farmers. Data points to the fact that local knowledge had positive impact in economic development, while presenting positive impacts to the community with reduced stress to the natural environment.