Institutional markets as a driver public policy for the adoption of agroforestry systems in the Brazilian Amazon

Agroforestry systems (AFS) are recognized as being a land use system that can improve the sustainability of agroecosystems (Wilson et al, 2016). However, low market opportunities for its products is one of the challenges for its adoption, especially the more diversified AFS (Coq-Huelva, 2016). With this perspective, the Brazillian National School Meal Program (Pro-grama Nacional de Alimentação Escolar, PNAE) and Food Procurement Program (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos, PAA) have emerged in the last decade as public policies aimed at stimulating purchasing of local products (Grisa & Porto, 2015). This research aims at assessing how the programs have encouraged biodiversification and in particular in AFS. We compare two municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon, Paragominas and Irituia. By realizing interviews with local stakeholders and review of documents, we identify the variety of products that have been acquired through programs representing different cropping systems (Table 1). The AFSs are the most significant cropping system purchased by the programs in Irituia, differently from Paragominas. This can be explained by the set of background initiatives improving AFSs car-ried out in Irituia. Programs, in this case, have emerged as one of the drivers of this expansion process. We conclude that the programs have a great potential to act on the expansion of diversified systems such as the AFSs, as long as they are associated to other actions present at the local level.