Project document

Table 3. Areas pre-selected for project field activities.

Category	Field Site	Area (ha)	Families	Area per family (ha)	RL (ha)	APP (ha)	Municipality	Year Created
1	Jacaré-Curituba Settlement	20,940	700 to 800	22.2 (rain-fed) 3.6 (irrigated)	1200- 1600	622.1	Canindé de São Francisco and Poço Redondo	1997- 1999
2	Poço Preto Community	750	50	~15	No data	No data	Poço Redondo	N/A
3	Florestan Fernandes Settlement	824	31	26.6	176.0	No data	Canindé de São Francisco	2002
4	Valmir Mota Settlement	429	33	13.0	178.2	225.2	Canindé de São Francisco	2009
Total		22,943	914	~19.0	>1900	>850

RL: Legal Reserve; APP: Permanent Preservation Area. No data: to be confirmed during 1^st. year project

Jacaré-Curituba Settlement

10. The Jacaré-Curituba settlement, located mostly in the municipality of Poço Redondo, is the largest and most complex due to its size and composition, including eight settlement projects, called Jacaré-Curituba I to VIII, combining various categories of land use, degradation and potential for improvement. Implementation of the Jacaré-Curituba Settlement Project, which includes eight areas, resulted in a complex mosaic of uses and potentialities. It has approximately 1,600 ha. of Legal Reserves and approximately 820 lots for settler families. According to the settlers, 60% of the lots are cultivable and their main crops are bananas, acerola, corn, beans, manioc (macaxeira), sorghum, pineapple, cactus and passion fruit. All these crops are consumed by the settlers and sold at local markets. The settlement has irrigation channels reaching most lots, but there are also rain-fed areas. Beans comprise 70% of the production of the settlement. Animal husbandry is practiced throughout the settlement, where there are about 3,000 head of cattle, 1,000 goats and 2,000 sheep. In addition to crops and livestock, 10 families work with beekeeping with Apis mellifera and wish to increase their profits from this source, which are now around 8% of monthly household income.

11. All scenarios of land degradation levels and multiple uses can be found there. Desertification and salinization are already under way within some of the settlement areas. The most serious problem is salinity, because the settlers make incorrect use of irrigation techniques. Salinity is due to irrigation by flooding, without irrigation kits. According to the rural extension service, the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) and Petrobrás are preparing guidance on how best to recover these areas through reforestation with native species of the Caatinga. There is also degradation due to gully erosion in much of the settlement. The settlement would welcome any project that could recover these areas. There is some organic fruit and vegetable production in the settlement, but on a small scale. The settlement is served by an irrigation system that benefits the settlers, but also involves some restrictions due to problems along the canals. Water is wasted due to structural problems of the irrigation system, so that some settlers suffer losses of their crops. The settlement also has an electric power substation to support the irrigation system and the homes of the settlers.

12. The various settlements share some characteristics but also have differences:

I) Jacaré-Curituba I was previously ranches called Santa Luzia, Santo Antônio, Petrolinda, Eldorado and São Francisco. Since 85% of its area has flat to undulated topography, the potential for land use is favorable for planting temporary and short-cycle crops such as corn and beans. However, these annual crops need to be well managed in order to be maintained safely and permanently. Part of the area has planted pastures.

II) The area that makes up Jacaré-Curituba II, formerly the ranches called Alto Bonito, Mandassaia, Nova Fortaleza, Santa Maria, San José I and Sao José II, includes various small dams. The 70% of land that is flat to gently rolling can be used, as in Jacaré-Curituba I, for annual crops. Ten percent (10%) of the area is unfit for agriculture use because of its fragility and topography and should remain under native vegetation. Part of the area has already been cleared to plant pastures.

III) Jacaré-Curituba III, formerly Alto Bonito da Formosa, Santa Teresa and Lagoa do Tirri ranches, also has good potential for agriculture, although farming should be associated with soil conservation practices. The entire area has undergone modifications with planting of buffelgrass and regeneration of areas of Caatinga. The main problem in the three areas already mentioned is the degradation of pastures and subsequent soil compaction.

IV) The area of Jacaré-Curituba IV, for the most part, is planted with annual crops such as corn and beans as well as forage cactus. Pastures with dominance of buffel grass and cactus are degraded and need to be renewed. Crop and soil treatments need to be adopted for soil conservation. Areas of Permanent Preservation (APP) are adjacent to the Grota do Angico Natural Monument, which was registered by the Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Sergipe State Secretariat of Culture.

V) Jacaré Curituba V, formerly the Boa Esperança Ranch, has three dams, one of which receives water from the irrigation system of the California Project. The whole area is fit for cultivation, but is now predominantly used for grazing. Some crops are also planted, but they may be too intensive and lack appropriate land management. When the area was expropriated, there was no record of cropland.

VI) In Jacaré-Curituba VI, formerly the California and Dallas ranches, there were no records of crops or livestock on the properties when they were expropriated, but current land use includes crops and livestock as well as pastures with buffelgrass and cactus. Some lots are part of the irrigation district and others have livestock.

VII) Jacaré-Curituba VII is also part of the irrigated perimeter, since 70% of its area is flat or only slightly hilly. It has areas planted with buffelgrass and elephant grass, as well as cactus.

VIII) Jacaré-Curituba VIII, formerly the Camara Ranch, has six small reservoirs that do not store much water or last through the dry season. There are however two springs that are used for water supply, mainly for livestock during the dry season. The area is suited for crops and livestock, but needs adoption of sustainable land management techniques, especially to improve carrying capacity.

13. For these reasons, the project will implement and diffuse selected sustainable technologies for land use, as described below:

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  Integrated Multiple Use Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) on 600 ha. of land suitable for use under management.
  
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  Planting of Atriplex nummularia in plots on 2 ha. to assess the impacts in desalinization areas as well as change in the regime of water management in irrigated areas.
  
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  Meliponiculture can be practiced in the areas of Legal Reserve and remaining vegetation near the houses and ponds, including the productive backyards. Residents of the Caatinga collect honey from native bees and use it for medicinal purposes. It would be possible for settlers to start using honey as food and medicine and sell it in local markets. The area has the potential for up to 200 hives. Beekeeping, as already practiced in a few places offers high potential for food, income, avoidance of clearing, burning and use of pesticides and appreciation of environment and benefits of cooperation.
  
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  Productive backyards with the families that are most interested, to be start-up family projects that can be replied all over the settlement. Agroecological systems, which should be replicated in the settlement itself, strengthening agro-ecological actions practiced in the settlement, ranging from production itself to marketing of the products.
  
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  Eco-efficient stoves in residences that show interest, along with awareness workshops about neighborhood management of firewood collection.
  
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  Soil conservation practices and management linked to the practice of agriculture and the prevention and reversal of erosion.
  
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  Dry stone dams to retain soils subject to being eroded by water, to create areas that can be planted and water reservoirs, as well as favoring infiltration and groundwater replenishment. Some dams will be built as a way to demonstrate how to plan watersheds.
  
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  The Xique-Xique irrigation system, which reduces water use and waste at specific points and is less dependent on equipment and materials that are difficult to acquire. It is more practical and farmers can carry out their own cleaning and maintenance of their irrigation systems.