INOVACOES AGROECOLOGICAS NO NORDESTE DE MINAS GERAIS: O CASO DOS SISTEMAS AGROFLORESTAIS NA AGRICULTURA FAMILIAR DO ALTO JEQUITINHONHA.

The agroforest systems - SAFs - allow the balance between production and biodiversity conservation. The objective of this paper is to measure the results and impacts of SAFs in Alto Jequitinhonha, in the Northeastern region of Minas Gerais, investigating features related to the household organization and management and conservation of natural resources. The research work was performed in 18 rural communities of five towns by means of interviews with 33 household farmers, named “monitors”, belonging to the acting base of the Centro de Agricultura Alternativa Vicente Nica (Vicente Nica Alternative Agriculture Center) – CAV – a non-governmental organization which acts in programs of rural development in the region. It was realized that SAFs have contributed to the improvement of the productive conditions, to the qualification of farmers and conservation of natural resources. It was verified that there are technical, financial and organizational limitations for the expansion of the proposal. It follows that SAFs, in Alto Jequitinhonha, constitutes an agroecological innovation feasible to the household farming of that region, and the actions developed by CAV deserve further attention, from the governmental scenery to the rural millieu