Productive sector comes together to strengthen ILPF in Paraná

Paraná has the potential to significantly increase the production of grains and wood and contribute to the sustainability of agriculture, all without increasing the area dedicated to agribusiness. One of the keys to this occurring is the Crop Livestock Forest Integration system (ILPF), a management strategy that integrates different production systems in the same area. The environmental, economic and social benefits of this practice motivated the FAEP/SENAR-PR System and the Cocamar cooperative, from Maringá, to develop the ILPF Systems Training Program.

The proposal aims to prepare professionals to provide technical assistance to rural producers in Paraná. This was evident during the launch of the program, held on March 30, in Maringá, northwest of the state. The event was attended by authorities, technicians and rural producers. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the proposal's supporters: Associação Rede ILPF, Embrapa and the Institute for Rural Development of Paraná (IDR-Paraná).

“In recent years, the ILPF implementation area has grown in Brazil and Paraná needs to follow this evolution. We know our producers' commitment to sustainable development in the countryside. To ensure that the best technologies are used and disseminated, we need to invest in the training of technical assistance professionals”, says Ágide Meneguette, president of the FAEP/SENAR-PR System.

“This program brought together important entities in the sector with their specialties to transmit knowledge to producers. I am sure it will be a success, with farmers and ranchers earning more”, adds José Antonio Borghi, president of the Maringá Rural Union.

Development

According to data from Rede ILPF, a platform for teaching, disseminating and popularizing this production system, the national area occupied by ILPF has increased almost tenfold in Brazil over the last 15 years – reaching 17,4 million hectares in the 2020/21 harvest . Despite the favorable scenario, this number corresponds to only 8,35% of the areas under agricultural use in Brazil. In Paraná, the area with ILPF is smaller than the national average: it represents 6,74% of the total, which is equivalent to 633 thousand hectares. The ILPF Network's goal is to reach 35 million hectares in the country by 2030.

With the ILPF Training Program, created by the FAEP/SENAR-PR System and Cocamar, the expectation is to identify producers with potential for disseminating the technology in the State, expanding the adoption of this system in the productive sector. The initiative will be conducted over 13 months, extending until April 2024 – which will correspond to 139 hours of training. There will be 16 meetings, with Field Days, technical visits and consultancies, for the training of 30 professionals, including technicians from Cocamar and IDR-Paraná, as well as instructors from SENAR-PR.

“We are going to create knowledge in the area, to diversify the property, intensify production in the same area and increase the production of grains and meat where there is low productivity. For this, good technical work is needed to support the producer”, highlights Luiz Lourenço, president of the Administrative Council of Cocamar, which has promoted the system since 1996.

The technicians involved (agronomists and veterinarians) will work in pairs, accompanying 22 Cocamar cooperative rural producers, who will make their properties available for implementing ILPF techniques throughout the program. At the end of the training, technicians must present a project and defend it to an evaluation panel.

“Producers will not be trained directly, but will provide their properties so that the technical team can put their knowledge into practice. The producer has the role of collaborating and carrying out the activities proposed by the technicians, in addition to being a person who promotes this management technique”, explains Emerson Nunes, ILPF technical manager at Cocamar. “The practices are adaptable to different realities and production sizes”, he adds.

Caiuá Sandstone

The focus of the program is the Arenito Caiuá, a region known for having sandy soil, low humidity and high temperatures. Locally, the activities carried out in ILPF systems play an important role in promoting the recovery of degraded pasture areas and increasing the profitability of rural properties with soybean cultivation.

“Soybeans are still shy in the region due to challenging weather conditions. But when you put cattle in the middle, the balance ends better”, points out Jorge Vecchi, agronomist at Cocamar. “We will have a large open-air laboratory to make integration happen through this training program,” adds Vecchi.

In the opinion of Victor Braga, a veterinarian at Cocamar, many livestock farmers in the region are already aware of the advantages that the integrated system offers and are looking for information to adopt management strategies on the property.

“Producers with more technology want to increase the planting area thinking precisely about pastures for the winter and the possibility of a second source of income with soybeans, to continue producing throughout the year”, he says. “With better quality winter pasture, we achieved a higher stocking rate in a period in which it is common for producers to have to get rid of animals, due to the lack of adequate pasture to maintain the stocking that comes in the summer”, adds Braga.

“The Northwest region needs to make a revolution. This program, bringing together these entities, can allow this to happen, to increase producers' income and intensify production in the same area. We need to change the way we conduct Arenito, using science and knowledge, ensuring that research reaches the field. This program is the opportunity”, highlighted Natalino Avance de Souza, CEO of IDR-Paraná.

Benefits

ILPF can be used in different modalities, combining two or three components in a production system: Crop Livestock Forest Integration (ILPF) or Agrosilvopastoral System; Crop and Livestock Integration (ILP) or Agropastoral System; Crop-Forest Integration (ILF) or Silviagricultural System; and Livestock Forest Integration (IPF) or Silvopastoral System. It can be done in intercropped cultivation, in succession or in rotation, so that there is mutual benefit for all activities.

Integration optimizes land use, increasing productivity, diversifying economic activities on the property and adding value to products. This reduces the risk of income frustration due to weather events or market conditions, in addition to reducing input costs and fixed costs for animal production.

With greater efficiency in the use of natural resources, there is a reduction in the use of agrochemicals, the opening of new areas for agricultural purposes and environmental liabilities. It promotes, at the same time, maintenance of biodiversity, nutrient cycling, mitigation of greenhouse gases, animal welfare and control of erosion processes by maintaining soil cover.

The advantages can still be felt in the social sphere, such as the reduction in the seasonality of the use of labor, the generation of direct and indirect jobs and incentives for professional qualification and study.

“Food production needs to reconcile environmental issues”

Held on March 30, the program's launch event, in Maringá, featured a master class by consultant Paulo Herrmann, former president of John Deere Brazil and one of the best-known advocates of integrated systems in the country. He highlighted global population growth projections and the resulting increase in demand for food. To achieve this, sustainability must be a key point.

“By 2050, 60% of the population will be concentrated in Asia and we will have to feed these people. This is the new world for which we will have to produce food. Paraná will have to produce 50% more than today and the circumstances under which this will have to happen is through sustainable intensification,” he stated.

Herrmann stressed the importance of training, especially young people, to lead these systems and bring innovation to Brazilian agriculture. In this process, he highlighted the commitment of sector entities to reconcile food production with environmental issues, taking advantage of the country's agricultural capabilities.

“We need people with the capacity to manage this technology efficiently. We all need to engage in this process, helping to spread knowledge, providing support so that research does not stop and building narratives, so that the future generation of Brazilians is connected with agriculture,” he said.