Non-Timber Forest Products and the Cosmetic Industry: An Econometric Assessment of Contributions to Income in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

This study explores Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) production and company–community partnerships with the multinational cosmetic industry. The objectives are to critically assess: (1) how income generated from market-oriented NTFPs extraction impacts small farmers’ livelihoods; and (2) whether membership in cooperatives linked to such partnerships is a factor in improved livelihood. Household-level data from 282 surveys conducted in remote communities in four municipalities in the Northeast region of the State of Pará provide empirical insight into NTFPs extraction and processing activities by smallholder farmers in the Brazilian Amazon. We employ a spatial econometric approach to assess if engagement in NTFPs extraction and membership in cooperatives result in statistically significant increases in the overall household income. A series of spatial regression models are used, including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Spatial Autoregressive Regression (SAR), Spatial Error Model (SEM), Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) and their corresponding alternative Bayesian models. Our study finds that NTFP extraction and membership in cooperatives tied to company–community partnerships are statistically significant and result in increases in total income at the household level. Findings also show that distance to transportation modes and markets are statistically significant with more distant households earning greater income. This finding presents challenges for the long-term sustainability of green alternatives to development that rely on remote, inaccessible environments for the commodities of interest. This is especially pronounced given the commitment of the Amazonian Nations, and the massive national and international investments, in the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), which has as its goal the creation of a multimodal transportation hub to integrate the continent with global markets and make accessible far reaches of the Amazon.

Development cooperation, non-timber forest products and community empowerment: power and interests in a public-private partnership in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Since this case is embedded in a bigger context of a previous relationship between cooperatives and a cosmetic company, findings partially conflict with those of Antunes et al (2021), who researched deals between a competing cosmetic company and supplier communities in Pará. Their results showed a significant increase in total household income for cooperative members achieved through capacity-building activities, as well as diversification of production and support for the processing of NTFPs (Antunes et al 2021). This number, however, is given in comparison with households that do not partake in such relationships and do not measure a specific intervention carried out by the company.…”

“…Since this case is embedded in a bigger context of a previous relationship between cooperatives and a cosmetic company, findings partially conflict with those of Antunes et al . (2021), who researched deals between a competing cosmetic company and supplier communities in Pará. Their results showed a significant increase in total household income for cooperative members achieved through capacity-building activities, as well as diversification of production and support for the processing of NTFPs (Antunes et al .…”

“…(2021), who researched deals between a competing cosmetic company and supplier communities in Pará. Their results showed a significant increase in total household income for cooperative members achieved through capacity-building activities, as well as diversification of production and support for the processing of NTFPs (Antunes et al . 2021).…”

Forests, Fields, and Pastures: Unequal Access to Brazil Nuts and Livelihood Strategies in an Extractive Reserve, Brazilian Amazon

“…Although also a crucial factor for forest product marketing in Amazonia [24], most respondents did not mention access to transportation routes as a major concern and barrier to entry for Brazil nut commercialization. Despite the important aforementioned accessibility distinctions between the three communities, they are relatively near each other and the market (Figure 1; Table 1), which may mean transportation costs for a high-value product such as Brazil nuts is not overwhelming.…”

“…Our aim here is to elucidate how differential access to Brazil nuts might help explain the choices made by different households and communities in terms of their livelihood portfolios and investment in other important cash-generating activities. Our focus on cash and income here is explicit and intentional, not because we do not consider non-monetary dimensions of the household economy to be substantial and crucial to well-being and local livelihoods [23], but because our aims relate specifically to understanding how the need to derive small but critical income shapes livelihood portfolios and market-based activities [24].…”