The Technical Team from the Interstate Agricultural Development Association (Associação de Desenvolvimento Agrícola Interestadual – ADAI) was present in the São Raimundo and Vicinal do Cacau communities and began the irrigation installations for the Integrated and Sustainable Agroecological Production System (PAIS) of the “Use of Social Technologies to Reduce Deforestation” project. The project will serve the Xingu, Marabá and Tapajós regions in Pará, and in the Tapajós region 14 families are benefiting from the first installment of the project, which will serve the municipalities of Itaituba, Trairão and Rurópolis.

The project will improve the production of a portion of those affected by dams, and family farm workers will have the opportunity to produce healthy food without the use of poisons. In addition, families who suffer from the abusive energy tariffs charged by Celpa will now have the opportunity to irrigate their gardens and part of their crops using renewable energy through the capture of energy from two solar panels that will be installed on each property.

The families expressed immense joy on their faces at receiving the PAIS, as they saw the system working and the water gushing out of the sprinklers. The look on each farmer’s face showed that there is still hope, that family farming and organized struggle are worth it.

At the installation on the plot of Dona Francisca (Irmã) and Antônio José (Maguila) in the São Raimundo community in the municipality of Rurópolis, the couple said that they had always dreamed of a well-organized vegetable garden and that now they will be able to have healthy food, improved production and family income.

On Mrs. Maria and Mr. Erbert’s plot, it was possible to see that dreams can come true there and that family farming just needs special attention and to be more valued. Erbert is grateful for the struggle and says that he wants to present the achievement by showing his production.

The project is an achievement of the Movement of People Affected by Dams (Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens – MAB), carried out by the Interstate Agricultural Development Association (Associação de Desenvolvimento Agrícola Interestadual – ADAI) in partnership with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social – BNDES).