Pioneer farmers of the Transamazon Highway : adaptation and agricultural production in the lowland tropics / Emilio Federico Moran.

Tese (Ph.D.)--University of Florida, 1975.

This study deals with the Brazilian efforts to settle and develop the Amazon Basin. In 1970 the Transamazon Highway was begun and a planned colonization scheme put into execution. By 1971 a number of planned communities were already built and inhabited by migrants selected by the Brazilian Colonization Agency. One of these planned communities was chosen to study the ecological, social and institutional adaptations of pioneer farmers coming from all parts of Brazil. The research focuses on whether behavior changes rapidly due to the "freedom of the frontier" or whether social and economic behavior tends to remain unchanged in the frontier zone. A corollary of the hypothesis is that the criteria used to select colonists were inadequate in eliciting behaviors that would lead to the achievement of project goals. The Transamazon Colonization Project is particularly useful as a study site because, in addition to the reputed frontier opportunities, colonization plans set out to change the behavior of a majority of the settlers. Colonization goals were to increase surplus agricultural production and solve the problems created by large masses of landless agrarian from the Northeast. The ecological setting is the terra firme tropical moist forest drained by the Xingu River. The region is composed largely of soils originating from chemically basic rocks. The area rests on a low plateau which dates from the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The undulating relief shows a predominance of latosols and podzols at high points, and hydromorphic solls at low points. Soils have low phosphorus levels but forest clearing through burning makes a substantial contribution of this nutrient available to plants. The social setting is a government-built village made up of 48 standardized houses, with provision made for basic health and educational services. Inhabitants came from 11 states representing the regional subcultures of Brazil. The personnel of institutional bureaucracies were localized in a planned town and expected to provide community leadership to the planned villages. A four-category typology based on life history material is used to explain the economic strategies chosen by the farmers. It is not region of origin, education, or unspecific agricultural experience which is associated with successful agricultural production. Rather, previous ownership of land and infrequency of migration more closely explain farm management capability. The most serious obstacles to Amazonian development are not ecological but social and institutional. Inflexibility in credit administration was more costly to farmers than lack of health. Inadequate side roads prevented agricultural production from being marketed. Misunderstanding between the urban government agents and the rural farmers are based on different cultural expectations. These differences in outlook present serious obstacles to project execution. The Transamazon Project is not a failure but it does need redefinition if it is to provide a more permanent solution to settlement in the humid tropics. Owners of small properties who have had stable employment stories should be given preference over sharecroppers and wage laborers in the selection of colonists if visible results are expected in a relatively short period. Furthermore, rural development requires improvement local people rather than continuous dependence on outside personnel for leadership and services.