9815141 Smith This U.S.-Brazil Program award will support a planning visit by Dr. Nigel J. Smith of the University of Florida to Belem, Brazil, to develop a collaborative research project with Dr. Giorgini Venturieri of the Federal University of Para, on the market impacts on agrobiodiversity among small land holders in the Eastern Amazonia region. Their project will look at the impacts of market integration on the diversity of crops and varieties maintained by small farmers in the rainforests of the Eastern Amazonia region as they are increasingly pulled into the orbit of burgeoning urban centers. By examining the decision-making process of the addition/dropping of crops and cultivars in response to market forces, niche markets can be developed for heirloom varieties of plants, thus resuscitating varieties that would otherwise be lost. ***
