Published
2022-12-17

How to Cite

Romero, M. del P., Betancourt, P., Sanclemente, O., & Gomez, M. . (2022). Agricultural sustainability of peasant Systems in the of Ayacucho [Palmira - Valle del Cauca]. Revista De Investigación Agraria Y Ambiental, 14(1), 124-144. https://doi.org/10.22490/21456453.5756
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Agricultural sustainability of peasant Systems in the of Ayacucho [Palmira - Valle del Cauca]

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22490/21456453.5756
Section
Área Agrícola
María del Pilar Romero Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia
Patricia Betancourt Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia
Oscar Sanclemente Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia
Manuel Gomez Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

Contextualization: This research is contextualized in peasant production systems in the hillside area of the municipality of Palmira-Valle del Cauca, characterized by presenting small productive areas with perennial, short-cycle plant species and livestock systems with minor species. These systems are of great importance for the food security of the population due to their diverse offer in the region's market.

Knowledge gap: Farming systems are highly vulnerable to various external factors such as market fluctuations and the weather variability that place them at risk. This research was based on the following question: how sustainable are the peasant farming systems in the hillside area of the Municipality of Palmira Valle del Cauca?

Purpose: To Evaluate the agricultural sustainability of peasant systems in the Ayacucho district, municipality of Palmira- Valle del Cauca.

Methodology: Some attributes of thirteen prioritized peasant systems were quantified, using the Natural Resource Management Systems Assessment Framework incorporating Sustainability Indicators-MESMIS. The data obtained from the survey and field visits were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics of main components using the statistical package R Studio version 3.0.1. The productivity, adaptability, stability, reliability and resilience, equity and self-management attributes were plotted using a radar-type diagram, with an evaluative range of 0-100%. The indicators per attribute were plotted as eigenvectors for the first two main components, establishing their degree of similarity through the accumulated variance.

Results and conclusions: The stability attribute registered the highest value with 75.15%, indicating strengths in land ownership and water supply in the area for agricultural production. The adaptability and self-management attributes registered the lowest values with 44.90% and 46.15% respectively, indicating weaknesses such as high dependence on external inputs, technical ignorance for the integration of animal and plant components, as well as low level of associativity. The results obtained from the MESMIS evaluation allowed for a holistic assessment of the peasant systems of the Arenillo-Palmira village, identifying the critical aspects to establish opportunities for improvement with a view to achieving sustainability.