Problem

The Cerrado region of Central Brazil, spanning 180 million hectares, is a vital savanna-grassland biome, rich in biodiversity and critical to global climate stability. Known as an “upside-down forest” due to its deep-rooted small trees, about 70% of its biomass is underground, storing approximately 118 tons of carbon per acre. However, habitat conversion - the human-driven transformation of natural ecosystems into altered landscapes by unsustainable agricultural practices like monocultures, overgrazing and fires - has surged to its highest level since 2015.. Projections indicate that by 2030, tens of millions of additional areas of native vegetation will be lost.

Without adaptive methods that integrate ecological and regenerative agricultural objectives, this ongoing habitat conversion that degrades biodiversity, soil and releases stored carbon, puts the Cerrado’s ecosystems and the socio-economic well-being of its inhabitants at high risk.

Responses

The Cerrado Agroforestry Systems (SACIs) offer a promising model for ecosystem-adapted ecological regeneration, food security and economic resilience. Developed by smallholder farmers from Brazil's agrarian reform settlements in Cerrado, SACIs integrate agroecological practices with native species to restore degraded land and promote biodiversity. They reportedly produce diverse, healthy foods such as cashews, corn, beans, and cassava while enriching the soil and enhancing ecological resilience.

This approach, in addition to preserving the enormous carbon capture power of the Cerrado's ‘upside-down forest’, also seeks to ensure the active participation and economic resilience of community farmers. A 2023 WWF-Brasil study sought to demonstrate SACIs’ financial viability, showing they can generate 30% higher long-term profits than conventional soy monocultures when accounting for ecological benefits like water retention and pollination. Supported by organisations like the Federal Institute of Brasilia and WWF-Brazil, SACIs emphasise collaboration among stakeholders. Following the first pilot’s application with five families across 3.5 hectares in 2022, the model expanded in 2023 to other agrarian reform areas in four Brazilian states, showcasing its potential for replicability to scale sustainable agriculture and productive forestry.

Find out more: The Food and Land Use Coalition, WWF