Agroforestry actions of the articulafito project - value chains in medicinal plants. (Special Issue: Saberes agroecologicos e sistemas alimentares na America Latina e Caribe.)

ABSTRACT

The article presents an account of the experience carried out during the COVID-19 syndemic, from the implementation actions of agroforestry systems aimed at productive inclusion, health and quality of life in the Koyakati Village - Mae Maria Indigenous Land -, in Bom Jesus do Tocantins-southeast of Para. These actions are part of the ArticulaFito project and result from a diagnosis of the national production base of medicinal plants and socio-biodiversity products, where the need for recovery and conservation of degraded areas was identified as a factor of fragility of productive relations, especially with regard to territories of populations and traditional communities, pressured by predatory production models that negatively impact the ways of life and health of these populations. The Value Links-B methodology was applied in the diagnosis with a view to drawing up an action plan aimed at the challenges diagnosed in the chain of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.), a species categorized as threatened with extinction due to population decline. Then, it indicates the agroforestry systems, to guarantee the adequate management of the native agroextractive species and, in this way, to conserve biodiversity, as well as guarantee the access to the raw material. The implementation actions of the Agroecological Experimentation Unit (UEA) are described here, with the objective of strengthening production systems and, thus, generating employment and income, in order to improve health indicators in these territories.