DO AGROECOLOGY PRACTICES HELP SMALL COFFEE PRODUCERS IN INCOME GENERATION? A CASE STUDY IN MINAS GERAIS

In this paper, a cost benefit analysis has been developed to compare 14 farms in the East Region of Minas Gerais (Brazil) to analyse whether agroecology can stabilize farmers’ incomes in comparison with conventional practices. Three price scenarios have been used in order to consider coffee price fluctuations. The study shows that agroecological farms, on average, have a value of Net Present Value (NPV) twice bigger than conventional farmers (US$ 54,060/ha against US$ 19,034/ha) for the average price scenario. For the low price scenario, the conventional small farmers show negative values of NPV, whereas agroecological producers still show positive results (US$ -9,8975/ha against US$ 20,479/ha). Then, four farms with different level of production diversification were compared. Results show diversification matters in generating income with bad market conditions, underlining the agroecological practices could be beneficial for small farming in the entire region of study.