Sustainability Analysis of the Agricultural Production System in la Encañada district, Cajamarca, Peru, between 2001 and 2019

• Autores: Cerna , Carlos Manuel, Ortiz , Oscar Ernesto
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2025
• Institución: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina
• Lenguaje: inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.lamolina.edu.pe:article/2311
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistas.lamolina.edu.pe/index.php/jpagronomy/article/view/2311
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: sustainability; agricultural innovation system; sustentabilidad; sistema de innovación agrícola; MESMIS; , indicadores medioambientales

To determine the sustainability of the agricultural production system using the MESMIS methodology in the district of “La Encañada”, Cajamarca, Peru, a study was carried out in three communities, including a sample of 69 farmers. Case selection, survey, and focus groups or participatory workshops techniques were used to collect information. The survey was designed considering the objectives of the study, the MESMIS method, the definition of indicators and sub-indicators according to each community and farmer groups that worked with and without soil conservation between 2001 and 2019. The sustainability analysis of farmer groups–with and without soil conservation–conducted in three communities for the years 2001 and 2019 revealed relatively low values of sustainability indices overall. The highest recorded value was 2.50 for the environmental indicator in Quinuamayo Bajo, while the sociocultural indicator in Sogorón Bajo–Magmamayo in 2001 had the lowest value (0.30), signaling low sustainability. The general sustainability indices for the sample studied in three communities between 2001 and 2019 remained below 2, ranging from 0.70 to 1.70. The sustainability values for various indicators, as well as the general sustainability index (ISG) did not exceed 2, hence not reaching the threshold for sustainability. Consequently, the results from the three communities and two groups studied (with and without soil conservation) did not show sustainable indices in either 2001 or 2019. This confirms the absence of a trend toward improvement in economic, environmental, and socio–cultural sustainability, despite more than two decades of development project interventions in the Encañada district. The analysis suggests a link between the decline of the agricultural production system and its sustainability, and the broader weakening of the agricultural innovation system in the Encañada district.