Summer 2025 Field Trips: Experiences in Pontal do Paranapanema, Brazil

One of the territories studied in the Agroecological Transitions for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation (Ag4C) project is Pontal do Paranapanema, located in the far west of the state of São Paulo. This territory is marked by a long history of land conflicts, the illegal appropriation of land by large landowners, and the advance of agribusiness, especially sugarcane production. At the same time, it is characterized by the struggle and resistance of rural workers, expressed, among other ways, through the establishment of agrarian reform settlements and the practice of agroecology.

Agroecology4Climate, Brazil Research Team, Pontal do Paranapanema, Brazil

The research team responsible for fieldwork in Pontal do Paranapanema began activities in the second half of 2024. The study includes three agrarian reform settlements: Rodeio Settlement, Água Limpa Settlement, and Palu Settlement, all located in the municipality of Presidente Bernardes. In this initial stage, alignment meetings were held and a work agenda was defined with the Associação de Produtores Assentados da Rodeio (APAR – Rodeio Settled Producers Association). A meteorological monitoring station was also installed to collect hourly local data on temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and rainfall.

In 2025, mobilization activities with families in the territory began. On February 8, ATCAM was presented through the following program: general presentation of the project; explanation of the objectives and methodology of the questionnaires; explanation of the soil sample collection methodology; presentation of the meteorological station installed at APAR’s headquarters; introduction to the use of the LiteFarm tool; and a discussion on agroecology. The activity concluded with a lunch prepared using agroecological products.

Following this initial presentation, in April 2025 fieldwork began to implement the methodologies outlined in the project. By early August, six field visits had been carried out in the Pontal do Paranapanema territory, resulting in the application of 20 questionnaires and the collection of soil samples from nine farms and one forest area. The workplan foresees completing the questionnaires and soil sampling by November 2025. Once this first stage is complete, a workshop will be organized to present the participating families with an initial feedback on the results obtained.

The activities have been conducted with the methodological rigor required by scientific research, combined with intense political-theory debate and rich exchanges of knowledge. The fieldwork has served as a space for co-production of knowledge and political commitment with a transformative purpose, integrated into a process shaped by engaged, activist research.