Abstract

MEZA BONE, Fabricio Fabián et al. Diagnostic evaluation of agrodiversity and sustainability of small farms that grow corn in Ecuador. Rev. investig. vet. Perú [online]. 2023, vol.34, n.4, e23852.  Epub Aug 25, 2023. ISSN 1609-9117.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/rivep.v34i4.23852.

The study was carried out in small Agricultural Production Units (UPA) that grow corn in the Cuatro Vientos and Lomas de Mera villages of the Mocache canton, humid tropics of Ecuador in order to evaluate the composition of agrodiversity and its relationship with its sustainability. The rapid characterization consisted of identifying the perceived problems and the state of agrodiversity on the farms, through direct observation and semi-structured interviews. For the detailed characterization, standardized and weighted sustainability indicators were used according to their importance in the sociocultural, economic and environmental dimensions. Farmers had a limitation on the low costs of the products since there was no price stability. The local hybrid INIAP H-551 continues to be managed under conventional practices. The planned agrodiversity influenced the similarity of the farms between both villages. Likewise, the Cuatro Vientos village maintained the greatest progressive change from the cultivation of corn to the cultivation of cocoa, resulting in the inverse relationship by increasing the loss of agrodiversity and providing the lowest values on the general sustainability index.

Keywords : agroecology; agroecosystems; rapid participatory characterization; detailed participatory characterization; agricultural production units.

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