Maranhão

11/08/25

Between July 28th and August 1st, the Rural Development Center (NDR), an initiative of the Fundação Vale implemented by the Arari Knowledge Station, in partnership with Embrapa Maranhão, held the 1st Training Course for Multipliers in the Sisteminha Embrapa technology, at the headquarters of Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, in Belém (PA). The training brought together community leaders and agricultural technicians from six municipalities in Pará with the aim of strengthening the dissemination of social technology which has transformed rural communities in Maranhão. 

Last day of the Sisteminha Practical Workshop at Embrapa Amazônia Oriental 

Since 2021, Arari Knowledge Station has been working with Sisteminha in the communities of Arari and Itapecuru-Mirim, in Maranhão. The accumulated practical experience allowed Arari Knowledge Station to implement a Technological Reference Unit (URT) of Sisteminha at the headquarters of Embrapa Amazônia Oriental – a space that will host the Agrizone of COP30, in 2025. This action represents a milestone in the visibility and expansion of the model, which now appears as a strategic methodology in the climate agenda and food security in the Amazon region. 

The Sisteminha Embrapa is a modular technology that integrates, in small spaces, the raising of laying hens, fish farming, and vegetable cultivation, promoting organic and sustainable production. Composters and worm farms are part of the Sisteminha, ensuring the use of waste and the production of natural fertilizer, completing the production cycle with ecological efficiency and low cost.  

During the course, participants were able to try all stages of technology, exchange experiences, and discuss strategies for multiplying knowledge in their territories. The training was attended by professor Luiz Carlos Guilherme, researcher at Embrapa Maranhão and creator of Sisteminha, who shared the trajectory of creating the technology and the positive impacts already observed in different regions of the country. Using a didactic approach, the professor emphasized that Sisteminha was created with the purpose of combating hunger in rural areas in a simple, efficient, and accessible way, promoting dignity and food autonomy for families in vulnerable situations. 

This initiative reinforces the work developed by the Arari Knowledge Station and the Fundação Vale in the area of family farming, with the aim of promoting food sovereignty, rural income generation, and the appreciation of agroecological practices, contributing to the construction of more autonomous, resilient, and sustainable communities. Thus, Rural Development Center has become a reference in integrated, sustainable rural development initiatives based on science and dialogue with communities, promoting solutions aligned with contemporary rural challenges.