Agroecological and conventional agricultural systems: comparative analysis of coffee farms in Brazil for sustainable development

A main problem in emerging countries is reducing poverty in rural areas with sustainable agricul-tural systems. Agroecology is a pattern of sustainable economic development with ecological pro-cesses directed to reduce production costs and support natural resource management. This study analyses differences between agroecology and conventional agricultural systems by using data of fifteen small coffee farms in the East Region of Minas Gerais state (Brazil) that is characterized by high levels of rural poverty and of environmental fragility. The analysis is based on a field research activity performed directly with small farmers by using a participatory approach. Information col-lected through direct interviews have been synthetized in various socioeconomic and environmen-tal indices in order to assess the differences in performance of farms. Results suggest that agroeco-logical systems can support local small farmers to stabilize and diversify incomes and improve en-vironment management. In addition, results here also suggest that agroecological practices have eliminated the use of pesticides, reduced the use of fertilizers and supported higher areas of forest conservation than conventional agricultural systems. Overall, then, this study shows that agroecol-ogy is a more cost-effective and sustainable agricultural system for smallholder farmers than con-ventional agricultural systems to support economic growth and wellbeing of rural areas.