Farming in Rondônia

• Published in: Resource and energy economics Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 155 - 188
• Main Authors: Jones, Donald W., Dale, Virginia H., Beauchamp, John J., Pedlowski, Marcos A., O'Neill, Robert V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-08-1995; Elsevier; Amsterdam :Elsevier Science Publishers,1993; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Series: Resource and Energy Economics
• Subjects: Agricultural and farming systems; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Amazonia; Biological and medical sciences; Deforestation; Energy economics; Farming; Farms; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Land-use; Production functions; Regression analysis; Studies; South America; Brazil; Amazon Basin; America; Deforestation; O13; Amazonia; Q15; Land-use; Tropical zone; Socioeconomic study; Developing countries; Soil quality; Farming system; Production function; Tropical soil; Natural biological resources; Agricultural production; Technicoeconomic study; Ungulata; Production system; Bovine; Forest zone; Personal income; Cultural capacity; Agricultural economics; Land use; Burning; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Conservation of resources; Pasture; Environment impact; Richness; Land clearing; Livestock; Rearing; Artiodactyla; Farmer; Resource management; Family group
• ISSN: 0928-7655; 1873-0221
• DOI: 10.1016/0928-7655(94)00011-8

We study economic and environmental aspects of farming practices of a sample of 91 family farms around the city of Ouro Preto, in Brazil's state of Rondônia, in western Amazonia, from four overlapping perspectives. First, we estimate production functions for six activities on multiproduct farms, finding evidence of increasing returns to scale in cattle activity and possible evidence of nonindependence of profit and utility maximization in severalsubsistence crops. Second, we examine determinants of overall current farm revenue and wealth, finding possible evidence of overuse of land and underinvestment in cattle, decapitalization of farms over time, overpopulation, and trade-off between children and capital accumulation. Third, we study interactions between burning strategies, diversification of farm activities, locational choice, length of tenure on a farm, and soil quality. Longer tenure on a farm and large area in perenial crops appear to reduce the frequency of burning, while greater area in annual crops increases the frequency. Larger pasture area tends to reduce the frequency of burning below an annual periodicity. Less frequent burning appears to be accompanied by greater diversification of farm income sources. Fourth, we study the determinants of deforestation on lots, finding a negative effect of clearance costs and productivity of land and in cultivation on the clearance of new land. However, the evidence for the relationship between cattle activity and deforestation is mixed: a larger number of cattle increases the absolute amount of land deforested on a lot, but a higher proportion of income from cattle increases the ratio of cultivated land to pasture on a farm. There is also evidence of a trade-off between land quality and the quantity of land deforested.