Transcript Terras devolutas

“Grilagem” in the Pontal
• Grilagem: “the fraudulent appropriation of public and leaseholder lands”
• Terras devolutas: lands that have been historically acquired by the process
of grilagem but have either been legally forfeited to the state or determined
by the state to be public lands
• The Law of the Lands (1850) allowed the illegal acquisition of vast tracks of
land by a few wealthy political elites and plantation owners
• 3 forest reserves were created in 1940s — today, two of the three reserves
have been completely destroyed
• In the 1990s the MST realized their first land occupation in the region
• Over 111 rural settlements have been created in the region with 6,182
families living on an area of about 140,272 hectares (DATALUTA, 2010)
• Over 1,200,000 hectares agricultural land in the Pontal have been legally
classified as terras devolutas (public state lands) and are able to be
redistributed
Agribusiness: The New Face of the
Latifúndio
• Latifúndio = a private land-holding larger than 1000 hectares (2200 acres)
with low to no agricultural productivity.
• The traditional latifúndio is being replaced by modern transnational
agro-energy corporations
• Of the 26 sugarcane refineries in the western region of the São Paulo 15 are
located in the municipalities of the Pontal do Paranapanema
• National MNCs are supported by government policy and large banks
• Foreign land ownership is increasing
• Sugarcane expansion is primarily occurring on lands classified as
“marginal” or “degraded”
• There has be a renewal and reinforcement of historical exclusionary social,
economic and land policies in the name of “productivity” and profit
The Pontal do Paranapanema: A
Case Study
The territorial dispute between peasants and agribusiness is illustrated in this photo of the
Mário Lago agrarian reform settlement with food production lots to the left and sugarcane to
the right. Photo: Douglas Mansur, 2005.
Sugarcane versus land reform settlement
expansion in the Pontal do Paranapanema
2003-08 (area in hectares)
2003-2004
2005-2006
2007-08
% increase
Sugarcane
71,095
92,391
152, 027
114%
Settlements
127,438
137,991
140,272
10%
Source: UNICA 2009, Fernandes et al. 2009
Note: By 2009-10, the sugarcane area had expanded yet again to 208,953 hectares
but the comparative growth of the settlement areas is not yet known.
Social Impacts of Sugar Cane
Ethanol in the Pontal
• Less redistributive agrarian reform and land reform settlement
• Increased land conflicts between agribusiness and small-farmers and rural
workers
• Rising land prices and increasing land rents
• The expropriation of peasant land and subordination of the peasantry
• Exploitation of plantation workers
• The loss of over 100,000 jobs with the mechanization of the sugarcane harvest
and few jobs created to replace those lost
• Increased social and economic inequalities
• Reduced food security for small farmers and the region’s municipalities
Environmental Impacts
• Monocultures of sugarcane alone account for 13% of the nation’s herbicide
application (Altieri and Bravo, 2009).
•Continued use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides further depletes nutrients
in the soil and contaminates groundwater and streams/rivers
• Aerial application of pesticides blows onto neighbouring properties of small
farmers, killing plants and poisoning livestock and people
• Pushes cattle ranching and the cultivation of other crops (primarily soy and
coffee) northward or eastward into other states and the Amazon
• Less incentive for reforestation in region and more relaxed conservation laws
• A significant amount of water is used in the cultivation of sugarcane and the
production of ethanol (although sugarcane refineries are becoming much more
efficient with water use in the processing process)
• GM sugarcane poses threat of cross-contamination with traditional varieties and
results in a reduction of region’s overall biodiversity
Alternatives for Land Use
• 70% of all the food consumed in Brazil is produced by small farmers planting
on only 30% of all the agricultural land (de Athayde and Martins 2008)
• Reforestation projects: i.e. “Green Embrace” and “Islands of Diversity” and
agroforestry projects: inter-planting coffee in forested regions near settelments
•MST promotes and attempts to implement agroecology in their land settlements
•AGROECOLOGY:
• “The application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and
management of sustainable agroecosystems” (Gliessman, qtd in Altieri 2003)
• Chemical-free agriculture based on a harmonious symbiotic relationship
between farmer, land, flora and fauna.
•utilizes traditional knowledge, polyculture, rotational cropping & low tillage methods,
& require little-to no fossil fuel inputs
• Challenges to implementing agroecology: degraded soils, asymmetrical power
relations, lack of political support & access to financial & technical assistance, lack
of traditional knowledge, accessible markets or means to bring products to market…
•
Agrofuels and the Future of Agrarian
Reform in Brazil
• Brazil plans to replace 10% of the worlds fossil fuels by 2025
• Increased energy production from bygasse (the waste product from sugarcane
processing) & continued expansion of soya monocultures to produce biodiesel
• Domestic growth will dominate production and consumption in midterm, but
the strategic long-term goal is to create a global ethanol commodity market
• Despite its exceptional efficienies Brazil's sugarcane ethanol program is not a model
for other developing countries to follow, as it is being promoted to be
•
Current path will only increase concentration of land ownership, and social and
economic inequalities while other truly sustainable alternatives that would actually
address local energy and food security needs will continue to be undermined
"Land reform is the solution for the economic, social, environmental
and political problems of our country. We fight in the ways we can, but
land reform will not be brought about solely by Brazilian workers and
Brazilian society. Land reform in Brazil also depends on international
solidarity." - Anonymous MST Member
Conclusion
“Climate change is the end point of the arrogant modernist dream of
creating an artificial environment based on an imperialist
industrialization process to supplant an ecology rooted in a more
harmonious relationship between community and biosphere based on
smallholder agriculture” (Bello, 2007, pg 3)
“A change in consumer patterns is essential, because no current
sustainable energy source can supply the world’s demand for energy.
But this option has been mostly excluded from the debates around reducing
greenhouse gases. The first step should be to invest heavily in public
transportation, in addition to working towards a better handling of waste,
greater energy efficiency, and the development of alternative energy
sources that are truly renewable” (Mendonça, 2009, pg 74).
“Sugar has never enriched anyone but slave traders, local landlords,
industrial farmers, sugar barons, speculators, food corporations, PR
consultants and professional politicians. No-one has ever traded their
way out of poverty with sugar, and there’s no reason to suppose that they
ever will” (Ransom, 2003).
For more information see:
ALTIERI, Miguel., BRAVO, Elizabeth. “The Ecological and Social Tragedy of Crop-based Biofuel Production in
the Americas.” In Jonasse, Richard. Agrofuels in the Americas. Food First Books, Oakland, 2009. Pg. 15-24
Available online at: http://www.foodfirst.org/files/pdf/Agrofuels_in_the_Americas.pdf
COTULA, L., DYER , N. and VERMEULEN, S. (2008) Fueling Exclusion? The Biofuels Boom and Poor People’s
Access to Land. IIED/FAO, London. Available online at: http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/12551IIED.pdf
FERNANDES, Bernardo Mançano , WELCH, Clifford Andrew and GONCALVES, Elienaí Constantino (2010)
'Agrofuel policies in Brazil: paradigmatic and territorial disputes', Journal of Peasant Studies, 37: 4, 793 — 819
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a927234645~frm=titlelink
HOLLANDER, Gail (2010) 'Power is sweet: sugarcane in the global ethanol assemblage', Journal of Peasant
Studies, 37: 4, 699 — 721
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a927238589~frm=titlelink
IFAD. (June 2009). Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in Brazil. Available online at:
http://www.ifad.org/operations/projects/regions/PL/factsheet/brazil_e.pdf
MST OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.mstbrazil.org
MENDOCA, Maria Luisa. “The Environmental and Social Consequences of “Green Capitalism” in Brazil. In
Jonasse, Richard. Agrofuels in the Americas. Food First Books, Oakland, 2009. Pg 65-75. Available online from
http://www.foodfirst.org/files/pdf/Agrofuels_in_the_Americas.pdf
WILKINSON, John and HERRERA, Selena .(2010). 'Biofuels in Brazil: debates and impacts', Journal of Peasant
Studies, 37: 4, 749 — 768 Available online from:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a927244231~frm=titlelink
UNEP. (2009). Towards Sustainable
Production
and Use
of
http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/pdf/Assessing_Biofuels_Full_Report.pdf
Resources:
Accessing
Biofuels.