Assessment of the Sustainability of Agricultural and Livestock Production Systems

Abstract

Consolidating the peace process in Colombian territory requires determining the relevance of the agricultural and livestock production systems promoted by national and international organisms as an economic alternative in the reincorporation of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) ex-combatants. Such is the case with the systems proposed in the Nueva Colombia (New Colombia) farm, located in the Pondores area of the Fonseca municipality in La Guajira, Colombia. In order to answer the question “Are the production systems of the Nueva Colombia farm sustainable?”, we carried out a qualitative agroecological assessment of five systems used (maize [Zea mays L.], cassava [Manihot esculenta Crantz], plantain [Musa x paradisiaca L. var. Hartón], cattle ranching, and poultry farming). Producers, technical consultants, and researchers participated in the assessment, with the goal of establishing a viability baseline and criteria to determine the convenience of allocating resources for the continuity of the systems. The results show that the Nueva Colombia farm is located in a very dry tropical forest life zone. The assessment shows moderate sustainability for plantain and cassava crops and weak sustainability for maize. As for the animal production systems, it was found that cattle ranching is not a sustainable system and that, therefore, its operation is not viable, while poultry farming is moderately sustainable. We concluded that it is not advisable to continue cattle production, and that the resources should be reallocated towards improving the poultry farming system. The agricultural systems require the implementation of practices that increase the specific and spatial diversity of crops, as well as their stress tolerance and the proportion of organic matter in soil.