Is the ‘‘F Word’’ an option for Brazilian farmers? The place of forestry in future integrated farming systems

This study analyses the economic viability of forestry in integrated farming systems (IFS) in Brazil. A 12-year cash flow was built with both experimental data and estimates for three IFS in the Savannah region: ICL (crops + cattle); ICLF1 (ICL + 227 eucalyptus trees/ha); and ICLF2 (ICL + 357 eucalyptus trees/ha). Investment analysis showed all IFS were viable, but ICL was more profitable than ICLF, due to occasional high crops and beef prices and low wood prices in 2016. In extreme scenarios, i.e. all commodities prices were high (SCE I) or all low (SCE II), results remained the same. However, an alternative, most likely, scenario (SCE III) showed ICLF were more economically recommended than ICL, as beef and crop prices dropped and wood prices increased, which is expected because of commodities price volatility. Thus, the introduction of forestry in future IFS is economically viable, although market risks remain. Further adoption of IFS with trees relies on innovative and follower farmers, with strong support of R&D, technology transfer programmes and IFS policies.