Inga trees that lock nitrogen into soil, raising its productivity levels, could help counter deforestation in Brazil. And these figures don't take into account August 2019, when Amazon fires were at their worst. A new project that promotes the benefits of growing the trees to smallholders in the country’s “arc of destruction” – the focal area of deforesatation – aims to discourage farmers from selling land to industrial cattle and soy producers. Many of the 300 species of Inga trees have edible fruits for which markets exist across Latin America. The Brazilian government has also been working with local communities on a plan called Project Ipiranga (Indigenous Peoples’ Initiative) aimed at protecting indigenous peoples against illegal logging and other forms of environmental destruction. By growing plantations of the trees, local communities could benefit from agricultural income and greater food security.
Inga trees that lock nitrogen into soil, raising its productivity levels, could help counter deforestation in Brazil. A new project that promotes the benefits of growing the trees to smallholders in the country’s “arc of destruction” – the focal area of deforesatation – aims to discourage farmers from selling land to industrial cattle and soy producers. Many of the 300 species of Inga trees have edible fruits for which markets exist across Latin America. The Brazilian government has also been working with local communities on a plan called Project Ipiranga (Indigenous Peoples’ Initiative) aimed at protecting indigenous peoples against illegal logging and other forms of environmental destruction. By growing plantations of the trees, local communities could benefit from agricultural income and greater food security.