Between the floods: Soils and agriculture on the lower Amazon floodplain, Brazil

The floodplain of the Lower Amazon River has been thought of as an appropriate location for agricultural development in the Brazilian Amazon. Given the problematic nature of conventional agriculture on upland areas, the assumption has been that with the naturally fertile alluvial soils and presumed ease of water-borne transportation, agriculture could boom on the floodplain. Despite discussion of the agricultural boom since the 1950s, it has not occurred.; This dissertation is a policy-related narrative about the reality of agriculture on the floodplain of the Amazon River as practiced by resource-poor smallholders in the Santarem region. Through the use of an integration of a cultural/political ecology framework and soil quality research, this dissertation seeks to unravel several of the common assumptions and perceptions about floodplain agriculture so as to clarify the reasons why the much discussed agricultural boom on the floodplain has not occurred. By specifically looking into the physical geography, land-use history, soil quality, agricultural system, and the marketing and transportation linkages of Ituqui Island, a floodplain island near Santarem, Para, Brazil, I demonstrate that developing the floodplain of the Amazon agriculturally is more complex than finding ways of increasing production alone.; What I demonstrate in this dissertation is that although floodplain soils are generally good, there are environmental limits to agriculture on the floodplain, especially seasonal drought and flood cycle variability. The implications of these limitations need to be fully considered because they are profound, especially from a smallholder perspective, and are difficult to 'improve' with technology. Similarly, while transportation is perhaps easier via water than on land, for local resource-poor farmers there are limitations to what, how far, and when agricultural products can be moved. Also, given the semi-urbanization of Santarem, urban residents tend to self-provision and thus limit the market for agricultural products produced on the floodplain. These transportation and marketing issues need to be specifically addressed in order for agriculture to boom on the floodplain.; The Brazilian Amazon is a diverse region with a multiplicity of local land-use and land-use histories. This diversity should be seen as a positive feature since reliance on one system of production is not an effective means of using resources. Local stories, such as the one told in this dissertation, are important because it is at the local level that policies are needed in the Amazon to address the regional issues of appropriate and sustainable land-use and to counter deforestation trends.