Events discuss ILPF solutions for Zona da Mata and Semiarid of AL

Embrapa and the network of state partners promoted, from November 21st to 23rd, two meetings to exchange knowledge and experiences in Crop – Livestock – Forest Integration (ILPF) system models for Alagoas. 

On Monday (21/11), the focus was forage alternatives for the Zona da Mata of Alagoas, both in integrated systems and in single cultivation. The Panel of Experts, promoted in partnership with Embrapa, Rede ILPF, Sebrae Alagoas and Federation of Industries of the State of Alagoas (FIEA), was the result of demands presented by the state's productive sector.

The focus was to debate and share knowledge with producers, technical advisors and consultants, Emater-AL technicians, teachers and researchers on the indication of forage crops for the Zona da Mata Alagoana, in addition to planning the installation of Technological Reference Units to test and demonstrate in the field the cultivars best adapted and with the best performance for the region.

In the FIEA auditorium, researchers from Embrapa Gado de Corte (Campo Grande, MS) Mateus Santos and Roberto Giolo opened the debates and shared the experiences of the Embrapa research network on new forage cultivars for Brazil. The meeting continued throughout the day with debates with the participation of livestock farmer José Nogueira Filho, UFAL researcher Philipe de Amorim and zootechnician from AW Assessoria Pecuária Alexis de Oliveira.

Industry demands

The general agenda is to seek solutions that bring productivity gains to livestock farmers and help mitigate and prevent degraded pasture areas in the region and throughout the country, which has a great tradition of pasture-based livestock farming. 

A large part of national livestock farming is supported by herds kept exclusively on pastures, due to the extension of the national territory and the country's edaphoclimatic characteristics, which is also the reality of Alagoas. In this sense, it is necessary to meet the demand for better forage for each region, as well as establish soil, plant and herd management, aiming to increase meat and milk productivity and thus avoid pasture degradation.

semiarid

On the 22nd and 23rd of November, technical assistants from Alagoas participated in another module – ILPF for the Semiarid region – of the ongoing training "ILPF in the Zona da Mata e Agreste de Alagoas", this time with the main focus on integrated systems for the Sertão. 

The course is a continuation of in-person training held in 2019, online in 2020 and hybrid in 2021, and is coordinated by Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros (Aracaju, SE) and Embrapa Florestas (Colombo, PR).

The first day was reserved for lectures and presentations, in the Sebrae auditorium in Maceió.

Researcher Rafael Tonucci, from Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos (Sobral, CE), opened the work, addressing ILPF systems for sustainable agricultural production in the Caatinga. Rafael Dantas, from Embrapa Semiarid (Petrolina, PE), presented the forages used in integrated systems for the Semiarid, and the use of the legume gliricidia in this type of system, which has been studied and validated by researcher Henrique Rangel, from Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros ( Aracaju, SE), coordinator of research with ILPF for the Northeast. The representative of the Sustainable Rural Caatinga Project Adriano Ferreira da Silva concluded the presentations, addressing ‘Sustainable rural landscapes in the Alagoan Semi-Arid’.

The fourth (24) was reserved for the visit to Fazenda Ibiporanga, in Olho d'Água das Flores, in the backlands of Alagoas, where Agropecuária Lagoa do Mato implemented a Livestock Forest Integration (IPF) system with native species combined with livestock of dairy cattle. In this system, the farm can produce 15 thousand liters of milk per day. The presentation of the system was made by agricultural engineer Victor dos Anjos, grandson of producer Luís Antônio dos Anjos, one of those responsible for implementing the farm.

The objective of the training is to expand the area used with silvopastoral systems in the Zona da Mata and Zona do Agreste de Alagoas. The initiative involves actions on two fronts - the installation in the field of demonstration areas of technological solutions and the continued training of assistants and consultants from Alagoas, who will meet demands from producers to implement integrated systems adapted to the regions.

The training is an initiative of Embrapa, Sebrae-AL and the Federation of Industries of the State of Alagoas (FIEA), and has a national partnership with the Associação Rede ILPF and a local partnership with the Superintendence of the Ministry of Agriculture in Alagoas, Emater/AL , Fazenda São Sebastião do Bonito - Grupo Álvaro Vasconcelos and Fazenda Buenos Aires, from producer José Nogueira Filho.

System

The silvopastoral system involves livestock and forestry activities carried out in the same area, in combined cultivation of trees and pastures. These are land use strategies that aim for economic, social and environmental sustainability. 

In the Silvopastoral System, livestock production benefits from improved environmental conditions, contributing to animal welfare. Raising animals outdoors, in an adequately wooded pasture, is capable of contributing to carbon sequestration, lower nitrous oxide emissions and mitigating the emission of methane gas by ruminants, gases that are important components in warming the atmosphere global (greenhouse effect). 

In addition to contributing to soil protection against erosion, recovery of degraded pastures, cycling of nutrients and diversifying the rural property's sources of income. It is also an alternative to incorporating wood production into the livestock enterprise and obtaining income from the arboreal component. However, these are systems that require technical planning, management and adaptation to the conditions of each cultivation location.