case studies undp: association of smallholder agroforestry producers reca project, brazil
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7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF SMALLHOLDER AGROFORESTRY PRODUCERS RECA PROJECT, BRAZIL
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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities
Brazil
ASSOCIATION OFSMALLHOLDERAGROFORESTRY PRODUCERSRECA PROJECT
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years
the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers, and in particular the guida
and inputs o Eugênio Vacaro. All photo credits courtesy o the Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers. Maps courtesy o
World Factbook and Wikipedia.
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers RECA Project, Brazil . Equator Initiat
Case Study Series. New York, NY.
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PROJECT SUMMARY This agroorestry project acilitates a variety o initiativesocused on supporting both amily and commercial levelagricultural production. The Association o SmallholderAgroorestry Producers brings together migrant armersand indigenous rubber tappers in the Abuna region o northern Brazil. Since 1989, these two groups have workedtogether to improve the agricultural productivity o theirorest landscape, recognizing the importance o respectingand adapting to the uniqueness o each community’sculture and local knowledge.
With the mission o ending rural emigration anddeorestation, the group’s agship RECA Project (Projeto Reorestamento Econômico Consorciado e Adensad )assists local armers to improve their technical capacity inagroorestry production and value-added processing o local resources, generating sustainable income streams orthese marginalized orest communities.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2010
FOUNDED: 1989
LOCATION: Abuna region, northern Brazil
BENEFICIARIES: More than 300 farming families
BIODIVERSITY: Recovery of degraded land
3
ASSOCIATION OF SMALLHOLDERAGROFORESTRY PRODUCERS RECA PROJECTBrazil
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 6
Biodiversity Impacts 8
Socioeconomic Impacts 8
Policy Impacts 10
Sustainability 11
Replication 12
Partners 12
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rojecto RECA is the agship programme o a small association o
migrant armers and indigenous rubber-tappers in the Abuna region
northern Brazil. The Association o Smallholder Agroorestry
roducers ( Associação dos Pequenos Agrossilvicultores) ounded the
roject in 1989 with the aim o improving the productivity o small-
cale agriculture in local orest ecosystems.
The Abuna region o northern Brazil
he project has its origins in the district o Nova Caliornia, Porto
Velho, in the north o the Brazilian state o Rondônia. For decades,
his region o Abuna, and much o the north o Brazil, was considered
evoid o economic opportunity and a largely unproductiveandscape. In the 1980s, the National Institute o Agrarian
ettlements (INCRA) encouraged armers rom across the country to
move to Abuna, with oers o land and opportunity. These policies
ttracted landless peasants rom the south o Brazil, who made the
ifcult trek to this economically isolated region with the promise
a new lie. To make space or new settlers, the government also
ursued a policy o deorestation to clear land. Settlers brought with
hem seeds or planting rice, beans, and coee in hopes that these
rops would thrive and provide or sustainable livelihoods. Many o
he migrants had a difcult time adapting to a lack o inrastructure
n the region – no access to electricity, a lack o transportation and
oad access, and insufcient access to basic social services.
Ater providing settlers with access to land, the government oered
ttle by way o capacity development or support. Attempts to grow
rops like cassava and corn were disastrous. Local soils and climate
were unsuitable, resulting in such low agricultural productivity that
armers were orced to clear more orest and plant ever-increasing
reas in the hopes o obtaining income. Clearing trees or crops
enerated heated disputes with the seringueiros , the region’s
ndigenous rubber tappers who relied on the tropical orest or their
velihoods. To make matters worse, the tip o the Abuna region
onstituted an area o dispute between Rondônia and Acre states.
These challenging conditions were ertile grounds or commu
driven collective action, and a number o progressive environm
and social organizations were born o this marginalization.
Founding o the association
A number o settlers approached the seringueiros or guidanc
ways to adapt agricultural production to local climatic condit
and planting cycles. These conversations led to the creation o
Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers, which bro
together a small group o community leaders and smallho
armers with the aim o developing livelihood options based o
orest ecosystem. Initially, a group o armers pooled their resoto purchase 24 cows, two bulls, and eight oxen cart. The g
created a system by which each amily received a cow, and in re
were required to return a cal to the association, which would
go to another amily.
Spurred by this initial success, the association continued to exp
options or improving the productivity o local ecosystems. I
proposals presented to ofcials in both Rondônia and Acre s
were unsuccessul. Undeterred, the association sought support
the Bishop o Acre, who accepted the project and in turn prese
it to the Centre or Statistics and Social Research (CERIS). This b
brought a reormulated proposal to the Dutch organisation CEB
(Roman Catholic Mediation Board or Financing o DevelopmProgrammes), where it was nally accepted in 1989 as the Pr
Reorestamento Econômico Consorciado e Adensado (RECA Pro
roughly translated as “Joint Consortium or Economic Reorestat
Early stages o Projeto RECA
The main thrust o the early stages o the project was to dev
a system o productive orest (through reorestation and o
activities) that would generate income streams or the
population without degrading the land. The possibilities expl
Background and Context
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y the architects o the project made the inormed choice to exclude
ce, bean and coee crops, which had in the past proved poorly
dapted to the Amazon climate and soil conditions. Instead, the
roup ocused on native and indigenous plants. The rst resources
llocated to the project were committed to replanting 200 hectares
degraded orest with peach palms, Brazil nuts, and cupuaçuzeiro.
he armers did not only concentrate on crops, but also on planting
ative trees species to maintain soil ertility, expand economic
ptions with non-timber orest products, and provide shade romhe sun.
With leadership by the local church, and in partnership the
eringueiros, project ounders mobilized a number o partners to
et the initiative o the ground. Each participating arm amily was
nitially given USD 958 per hectare o land, to a maximum o three
ectares. Over 80 amilies each signed an agreement pledging to
epay’ this nancing in the orm o collectively pooled produce. The
oundation o the project was reciprocity and shared ownership
ased on the collective investment o time and resources. As
roduction increased rom the association’s activities, the group
uickly realized that there was not sufcient demand or the
mount o crops being produced. This led to the construction o an
gri-business centre to store and process the various agricultural
ommodities being harvested.
Value-added processing o orest commodities
n the years since the initiative began, the RECA project has
ustainably managed local orest ecosystems to create income-
enerating opportunities or the local population. With a particular
ocus on peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), cupuaçu (Theobroma
randiorum), and Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), the association
urrently operates three agri-businesses in ruit pulp processing,
each palm processing, and processing o oils rom ruit species. The
association also operates a learning centre or the disseminatio
agro-orestry techniques, including an auditorium that is use
meetings, lectures, courses, and peer-to-peer exchange. A marke
centre is also used as a clearing house or the RECA member c
and products, including honey, liqueurs, jams, jellies, add choco
Operating and administrative costs o the association are prov
or by revenues generated through the sale o processed prod
as well as partnership with national and international organizat
Recognizing a need or regular exchange and ace-to-ace meet
but acing geographical challenges, the association was divided
12 groups. Today, these groups directly serve more than 300 am
o armers, and indirectly more than 500 amilies. Activities ocu
organic agriculture, diversication o livelihoods, and the bree
o small animals (sh, birds, and bees). Its primary stated objec
include:
1. Providing support to amilies in rural areas through mutua
2. Mobilizing small agro-orestry amily groups or s
productive work, mutual support and ellowship
3. Legally and administratively supporting and represe
association members
4. Providing a popular, alternative health care system
5. Providing an education system adapted to rural realities
needs
6. Training members in administration and business managem
7. Undertaking the collective harvest o agro-orestry produc
sale in local, national and international markets
8. Conserving the local environment and biodiversity
9. Classiying, standardizing, storing, processing, manuactu
and registering trademarks or local products
10. Using community radio to broadcast artistic, educational
scientic inormation
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Key Activities and Innovations
he primary activities o the association are ocused on amily arm
gro-orestry systems, which assist in the recovery o degraded areas,
he reorestation o riparian orests, and the improvement o local
velihoods and incomes through organic arming. The RECA project
oversees activities on over 1,500 hectares o reclaimed land, all in
reas where the orest had been degraded, and all being reclaimed
hrough reorestation with native species o ruit and timber trees. In
ddition to operating a Family Farm School – which oers a month-
ong agro-orestry training course split between the eld and home-
tudy – RECA oers community training courses in organic arming,
nvironmental conservation, and women’s empowerment. The
welve armer groups coordinate the production, processing, storage
nd marketing o all products. A community production acility hasbeen constructed or the preparation o palm hearts, ruit pulp, oil
xtraction, and more. RECA has recently engaged in a certication
process or organic products harvested by local producers.
Community processing enterprises
he three community-based agri-businesses – peach palm
processing, ruit pulp processing, and agriculture storage – source
ll produce directly rom RECA member armers. Peach palm is
arvested rom December to July. Ater the palms are cleaned at the
processing centre, the heads and stems o the palms are separated.
he peach palms are sliced and placed into pots, while the stems
re cut into smaller pieces. The two parts o the peach palm areprocessed urther, then packaged and marketed by RECA in local
nd national markets.
ulp production ocuses on cupuaçu and acai. In the case o cupuaçu,
he pulp is separated rom the seeds, and the ormer packed
nto 1-kilogram and 5-kilogram bags and then rerigerated. Acai
ndergoes a similar processing, being heated in a pan to separate
he pulp rom the seeds beore the pulp is packed into 1-kilogram
nd 5-kilogram bags and then rerigerated. Both cupuaçu and acai
pulp are sold in local and regional markets.
Lastly, RECA extracts and processes the oils o cupuaçu, Brazil
and Andiroba. In the case o cupuaçu, oil is extracted rom the s
o the ruit, which are collected during pulp processing. The s
undergo ermentation or a ull week and are then sun-drie
large barges, a process which can last over two weeks, depen
on weather conditions. The drying process is completed when
seeds are heated in a boiler. A machine not unlike a printing pr
used to separate the oil. The remaining material is used or ert
The oil is then ltered and packed into 45-litre drums. Brazil nut
collected, dried on a roo, and the outer shells removed. The pro
o oil extraction or both Brazil nuts and andiroba is similar to
o cupuaçu. Processed oils are largely sold to cosmetics compan
Organizational structure
RECA maintains twenty ull-time sta, including six agricul
extension ofcers, a marketing ofcer, a secretary, a nancial assis
a driver, and two guards. While most employees are covered u
the association’s budget, some – as in the case o several o
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gricultural extension ofcers – are covered through partnerships,
many o which are with government agencies. Technical sta and
gricultural outreach workers are trained to speak at ‘Family Farm
chools’, where students spend teen days at the association’s
chool house receiving instruction and a urther teen days at
ome applying acquired knowledge. Each group retains a technical
pecialist who teaches at the school, who also helps to monitor
roductivity and oversee support with manure, composting, pest
ontrol, and value-added secondary processing.
he structure o the organization has adapted to changes in (and
mitations created by) the legal and policy landscapes in which the
ssociation operates. As a registered non-prot organization, the
association was orced to reconcile (or legal purposes) this
prot status with a need to market and sell its products. Accor
to prevailing laws, non-prot organizations were prohibited
engaging in marketing activities. To overcome this problem, R
created the Cooperative Agro-Forestry RECA Project in 2006 w
governed by its own constitution and bylaws, became respon
or the marketing o RECA products. This marked the creation
new organizational model, bringing together a social organiza
with a cooperative. The cooperative arm o RECA now retresponsibilities or marketing and commercialization, with
revenues then transerred back to the Association o Smallho
Agroorestry Producers to be distributed to its members.
“Our region is experiencing climate change. We feel more vulnerable without forest cover an
healthy ecosystems. We can say from experience in reforesting degraded areas that environment
and economic security is improved. Biodiversity has returned to the reforested areas.”
Eugênio Vacaro, Associação dos Pequenos Agrossilvicultores
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Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS
RECA has as one its primary areas o ocus the recovery o degraded
ands. The region where the group now operates was subject to
evere deorestation and orest degradation. Commercial logging,
and conversion or livestock and agriculture, and slash-and-burn
arming all put unsustainable pressure on the region’s orests and
biodiversity. RECA has worked through a community-based model
o sustainable agro-orestry to reclaim degraded land and to provide
n alternative to intensive and unsustainable land management or
extractive industries such as mining and logging. The association
has successully ostered a conservation ethic among local armers,
who now view the orests and local ecosystems as ragile naturalssets that require protection and renewal.
Eects o reorestation
Degraded lands have been restored largely through reorestation
using native ruit tree species. Family arm plots and local armers
have been the vehicles or tree planting and sustainable extraction
ctivities. The association emphasizes the need or a stable
environment with healthy and unctioning ecosystems or lands to
be productive. Particular emphasis has been given to the recovery
nd restoration o riparian buer zones – watersheds, springs and
ponds. The RECA production model o sustainable agro-orestry
ystems has proved to be a powerul tool to reduce deorestationnd orest degradation. Illegal shing, poaching and logging have
ll been reduced in the region.
Environmental responsibility and sustainable land management
principles are built in to amily arm land use plans. To become
nd remain a contributing member o RECA, armers must meet
minimum environmental requirements concerning the adoption o
ustainable production techniques and conservation activities. RECA
works with individual members to conduct participatory and tailored
and use plans and environmental assessments. The association has
mapped and photographed all amily arms (over 150) as a means o
establishing those regions most in need o restoration. Over 640
seedlings – bacaba, acai, rubber, andiroba, amulet, dragon’s b
chestnuts, cupuaçu and peach palms – have been planted sinc
beginning o the initiative.
Environmental education
RECA has also set up an environmental education program
raise awareness on existing and uture threats to local o
and ecosystems, as well as viable livelihood options and
management techniques that can both conserve and restore
environment. RECA conducts ongoing lectures on environm
conservation and sustainable livelihoods, and complementsactivity with classroom- and eld-based training or local stud
Trainings ocus on reorestation and agro-orestry techniques,
special emphasis on riparian ecosystems and the use o n
tree species. Students receive instruction in orest managem
the value o standing orests in soil conservation and ecosy
service provision, and the importance o native seed specie
local biodiversity. Students (including local school children
oered hands-on training in reorestation work and encour
to contribute to tree planting eorts. Courses are oere
environmental management, environmental law, and org
produce and certication.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
The main target beneciaries o the RECA project were and re
immigrants rom neighboring states in Brazil, who came to the re
in search o economic prosperity. When many o these immig
came to settle in the region, however, they ound themselves iso
and marginalized, with little to no access to basic social services
livelihood options, and even ewer sustainable livelihood opt
The region was also plagued by disease burden, with high incid
o both malaria and leishmaniasis. It also did not take long be
the migrants realized that native tree species (or ruit and tim
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were more productive and produced more seeds than those crops
brought rom other regions – namely, beans, rice and rubber.
Realizing economic benefts rom value-added processing
Since 1989, RECA has grown rom 86 amilies to over 300 amilies o
mall agro-orestry producers who arm some 1,800 hectares. This
association model has allowed members to generate incomes more
han 30% higher than those o local armers who sell unprocessedcommodities. Each arm is supported to integrate native ruit and
imber trees into their production landscapes. Fruit is harvested
by local producers and then sold to RECA, where it is taken to
processing centres to make palm, pulp and oil products. Dierent
producers earn dierent amounts. This varies depending on the
particulars o each arm, including distance rom RECA processing
centres, the property soil type, individual production choices, and
he organization o the producer group to which the arm belongs.
Prior to the ormation o these local producer groups, amilies
were operating on their own and in isolation. RECA has provided
a platorm or the collective articulation o a community-driven
agro-orestry model that works or people and the environment.
n addition to providing a collective bargaining outlet, RECA has
provided a platorm on which armers have been able to attract and
build partnerships that bring value and added capacity to their work.
The economic success o RECA has also put a previously isolated
and marginalized region and population on the map, lending both
political visibility and legitimacy.
RECA operates agri-businesses that process, market and sell
peach palms, ruit pulp, and ruit oil. And the outputs rom these
businesses are substantial. In one season alone, RECA processed one
million pounds o ruit, producing 350,000 pounds o cupuaçu pulp,
00,000 pounds o dried and ermented cupuaçu, more than 40,000pounds o cupuaçu butter, 20,000 cans o Brazil nuts, 8,000 pounds
o Brazil nut oil, over 70,000 pounds o peach palm, and 100,000
pounds o acai. The association is expanding into the production
and marketing o locally produced honeys, liqeurs, jellies, jams and
oaps.
Spillover eects and livelihoods diversifcation
t is not an overstatement to say that RECA has transormed the
ocal economy. In the 2007-2009 project cycle alone, RECA shared
more than USD 1,000,000 in revenues with local producer groups. In
addition to improved incomes through the supply-chain that now
inks local ruit producers with processing and marketing services, apercentage o revenues rom RECA products have been reinvested
nto other small business enterprises, including pharmacies, bakeries
and a number o dierent stores. Producer amilies have been able
o make improvements to their homes, with many upgrading
rom pachiuba straw to brick. So too, a percentage o revenues are
allocated to reorestation eorts, ensuring both environmental and
economic security and sustainability. The planting o native ruit
and timber trees has had spillover benets or other crops (such as
coee) and livestock cultivation. Restored lands with healthy and
biologically diverse ecosystems make or more productive crops
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nd healthier livestock. Similarly, diversied production methods
nd a shit to organic agriculture have resulted in greater ood
ecurity at the household and arm levels. RECA has promoted crop
iversication, providing a broader income base or local producers,
nd now works with over 20 dierent types o ruit and timber trees,
s well as a number o medicinal plants, including bacaba, andiroba,
opal, dragon’s blood, rambutan, and more.
o too, over 40 amilies have been supported to work in apiculturebeekeeping), with RECA providing assistance in the production,
ottling and marketing o honey and ensuring certication
rocesses meet existing regulatory requirements. A urther 10
amilies have been supported to create chicken arms, supplying a
ocal market that until recently was entirely dependent on imported
hicken and eggs. Beyond the local producers directly linked into
he RECA supply-chain, the association hires many day labourers or
emporary labour (oten between six and seven months) during the
arvests.
ECA has also supported a number o members in the process o
orest certication. More than 30 licenses or organic agriculture
ave been awarded to community arms, and several more amilies
re going through the certication process. This has been acilitated
hrough a number o partners, including a company, Natura, which
manuactures cosmetics rom natural products and uses white cacao
utter or creams and soap. This air trade company supports RECA
with unding or orest certication and requisite training courses.
Collaborative learning and social equity
Within the cooperative model, success has bred success, with
roducer groups also serving as a platorm or technology transer
nd other improvements. A good example o this phenomenon is
ractors. Those armers who have made signicant prots and whoave larger tracts o land have been able to purchase new tractors.
t has become standard practice to then pass on old tractors to
hose armers within the producer group who may not have had
he means o purchasing such equipment. While anecdotal, this
ranser is indicative o the eect RECA’s mobilization eorts have
ad on community sensibility. RECA’s participatory approach
o management, organization and decision-making – and the
rocess o meeting in groups to identiy common problems as well
s potential solutions – has become part o local culture, and has
edened the meaning o local citizenship and mutual responsibility.
Concerted eorts have also been made by the association to ully
nd equitably integrate women and youth into project activities.Workshops and training courses in agro-orestry, which are oered
hrough the Family Farm School, have been provided rst and
oremost to the children o RECA members. This has helped to
nsure cross-generational understanding o RECA objectives and a
hared commitment to sustainability principles. On the premises,
he school has a demonstration garden, an aviary or chicken-raising,
nd a plant nursery. These activities increase ood security or the
chool and generate income rom selling surplus produce. Women’s
mpowerment has evolved organically within the organization,
ased on demand rom local women or representation in decision-
making processes. As a result, each producer group has an ele
representative who is specically responsible or receiving
voicing the concerns and needs o emale armers.
POLICY IMPACTS
The region in which RECA now operates is not only econom
marginalized, but has historically lacked basic inrastructure (ro
district and municipal government ofces, etc.) and social ser(health care, hospitals, and schools) due to its geographic dist
rom major centres; the Abuna region is 360 kilometers rom
municipal centre o Porto Velho, Rondônia, and 150 kilometers
Rio Branco, in Acre state. As the main regional employer du
the harvest season, RECA has lled many o these inrastruc
and social service gaps that have been let by the governme
now provides health care and education services and has been
source o the majority o investments into local inrastructure
such, RECA has become a valued partner o several governm
departments in crating public policies in the region.
It now serves as a veritable policy delivery bridge between
government and local citizens. This inherited role o service pro
and policy conduit has positioned RECA well to advocate
environmental licenses, land tenure reorm and organic certicat
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Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYOne o the key ingredients to RECA’s model o sustainability is the
articipatory model o governance that guides the organization’s
ecisions. Groups o amily armers not only participate in, but lead
he management and ull implementation o the project.
Organizational sustainability
While the association has undergone a number o changes in its
overnance structure since it began in 1989, some key aspects
ave remained the same. The association was and remains highly
articipatory in its management. Decisions are taken in consultationwith participating community members. Producers are actively
ncouraged to participate in meetings and to voice their concerns
nd preerences. Groups are typically composed o small numbers o
eighbouring households. Group members meet on a monthly basis
o exchange ideas, take stock o production and project activities,
nd to discuss the needs, demands and challenges o each producer.
articipation in monthly meetings is, in act, mandatory, with any
roducer missing three consecutive meetings ejected rom the
roup. Incidence o the latter is ew and ar between.
o acilitate eective management and decision-making, each group
lects a coordinator, a leader and a women’s representative. The
oordinator has the role o liaison between individual groups andECA as a whole, and represents the group at larger coordination
meetings. The leader is responsible or promoting the integration o
member activities, a role ocused squarely on the individual group.
Lastly, the women’s representative is a position that has eme
based on demand rom emale producers or representation
empowerment, and holds responsibility or uniting emale mem
and encouraging their participation in meetings. Taken togethe
coordinators o each group make up the RECA board, o which
are elected to hold the positions o president (a term o two y
and vice president. The president does not coordinate deci
making, but rather is responsible or conducting discussions am
the coordinators to ensure decisions are taken in a air and equi
manner that is consistent with member demands and needs.
As stipulated in the organization’s by-laws, RECA meetings
held biannually. The rst meeting o the year is the ‘representassembly’, attended only by individual coordinators. The se
meeting is a ‘general assembly’ which is open to all members. It i
uncommon or meetings o the coordinators, leaders and wom
representatives rom each group to be held monthly. Produc
marketing, outputs, proposed projects, and potential partners
are discussed at these meetings, which also serve as a orum w
the demands o each group can be discussed within the conte
the larger organization.
Through the association, armers are able to gain acces
training in property management, organic agriculture, net
development, dairy arming, environmental management,
arming, and beekeeping. The association’s oundational princo environmental responsibility and sustainable livelihoods
promoted through the Family Farm School, where the childre
armers receive training in entrepreneurship and agro-orestry
“Our advice to other communities is that there is still time to make a difference. What is
required is dedication.”
Eugênio Vacaro, Associação dos Pequenos Agrossilvicultores
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hrough which the conservation ethic that sustains the organization
transmitted to the next generation. RECA has become an important
art o the social abric in the region, and receives a high level o
nvestment rom the local population because this population
eceives a great deal in return.
n 2008, RECA undertook a strategic planning exercise to chart a plan
or the next ten years. Through the ull participation and input o all
members, RECA was able to drat a business plan, a managementlan, and a roadmap or the modernization o harvesting and
rocessing equipment.
REPLICATION
he RECA model has proved to be in high demand. The association
stimates that it receives over 1,500 visitors every year – armers,
ndigenous people, teachers, students, agricultural extension
fcers, government ofcials (including rom the Ministry o
griculture), and researchers – who are interested in learning rom
he association’s experience. Knowledge exchanges are hosted
hrough a training centre, as well as the Family Farm School.
epresentatives o RECA have also traveled to a number o regions
Brazil to share their experience with other communities. Owing
o these knowledge exchanges and site visits, the RECA model has
een successully replicated and is being applied across Brazil, as
well as in several communities in Bolivia and Angola. Every year, the
ssociation holds a estival which serves as a reunion or all armer
members, both past and present.
he association believes strongly in the organizational model and
he agro-orestry approach which has positively transormed their
ocal economy and environment. They do not, however, believe in a
ne-size-ts-all approach, and are quick to communicate to visiting
armers and communities looking to learn rom their experiencehat a commitment to tailoring appropriate solutions to the needs
nd demands o each particular community (and individual arm, or
hat matter) is absolutely essential.
PARTNERS
artnership has been essential or RECA since its beginning. As a
rst phase o its work, RECA developed 200 hectares o land to test
s agro-orestry practices and techniques. The Catholic Committee
gainst Hunger or Development in the World supported with
onstruction o the rst processing unit or pulps. The Government
Germany (GTZ) and the Pastoral Land Commission provided
dvisory support, while the Bank o Brazil provided nancing.
esearch partnerships have been orged on several dierent
ccasions, such as with the National Institute o Amazon Research
NPA), who worked with RECA to develop research into eective
gro-orestry training courses; the Acre branch o the Brazilian
gricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa
gropecuária – Embrapa) who worked with the association on
est control or cupuassu crops and research on soil restoration;
he Agroorestry Research and Extension Group o Acre (PESACRE)
who developed research on an eective structure and curriculum
design or the Family Farm School, as well as marketing and ma
research; and many other partners who contributed na
support, volunteers, and assistance with construction o the R
marketing centre.
As previously mentioned, the tip o the Abuna region was an
under dispute, which hindered policy delivery and investment
the two state governments. Despite the territorial dispute, and
resulting gaps in coverage by state services and inrastructureederal government has supported RECA through bodies suc
Embrapa, the Company or Technical Assistance and Rural Exten
(EMATER), and the Ministry o Agragian Development. Partne
has taken the orm o technical guidance, advice, training, cou
and workshops. The ederal government has also been suppo
in the area o technical support, providing some RECA armers
tractors and machinery.
Other partnerships have included Commissão Pastoral da T
through the local catholic church, or nancial support
linkages with international donor agencies; SEBRAE-Rondô
which has assisted with marketing support; Petrobas, or pro
implementation and the recovery o degraded areas; IMAFLORA
agricultural certication; the Association or Participatory Pa
Certication, or organic produce certication; SENAR, or cap
building training; and Natura, whose benet-sharing model
ensured that armers receive a air price or commodities.
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Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:
FURTHER REFERENCE
Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers Photo Story (Vimeo) http://vimeo.com/15960875
Condack de Oliveira, H. Joint Consortium or Economic Reorestation (Reorestamento Econômico Consorciado e Adensado, RECA),
zil , in Rey de Marulanda, N. and Tancredi, F. B. 2010 From social innovation to public policy: Success stories in Latin America and th
ribbean. United Nations Economic Commission or Latin América and the Caribbean (ECLAC) pp. 54-7. http://www.cepal.org/
innovacionsocial/e/proyectos/br/reca/RECA.pd
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