Agriculture in the Atlantic Forest area is responsible for the production of more than half of the food consumed in the country. The biome, however, emits only 26% of the total of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the Brazilian agricultural sector. The data are from a study released today (9) by the non-governmental organization (NGO) SOS Mata Atlântica, signed by researchers Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto, Jean Paul Metzger and Gerd Sparovek.
According to the study, the Atlantic Forest accounts for 52% of the country’s vegetable production of food for direct consumption (except corn, soy and sugarcane); 30% of non-food plant production (fibers, latex and cotton); 43% of the production of soy, corn and sugar cane, food crops for direct and indirect consumption (animal feed) and energy; 56% of the production of food of animal origin; and 62% of animal heads (cattle, sheep, poultry, swine).
“This result is achieved with an area of agricultural use and greenhouse gas emissions comparatively lower than those of the Cerrado, which has become the paradigm and reference of national agriculture in recent decades from the cultivation of monocultures on a large scale and on large scales. properties”, highlights researcher Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto, executive director of SOS Mata Atlântica.
Professor at the Department of Ecology at the University of São Paulo (USP), counselor at SOS Mata Atlântica and one of the authors of the study, Jean Paul Metzger points out that, historically, the biome is responsible for the country’s food security.
“Since the beginning of Portuguese colonization, in 1500, the Brazilian agri-food system has basically depended on the Atlantic Forest for most of its history, but its current potential to contribute, in a sustainable way, to the food security of the Brazilian population is still little known. and explored.”
The Food Production in the Atlantic Forest study was supported by the Josué de Castro Chair, and data from the Agricultural Censuses of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), MapBiomas and the Atlas of Brazilian Agriculture.
