Summary
The paper reviews the government-directed attempt to siphon surplus populations from other regions of Brazil and to settle them along the upland transect of the Transamazon by focusing on problems of agricultural productivity encountered by colonists in a pioneer rain forest environment. Particular attention is paid to cash cropping systems, since one of the objectives of the settlement scheme was to provide opportunities for landless peasants and flagelados to become entrepreneurial farmers. The cultural and ecological problems associated with farming are examined for the period 1970-1975.