Sustainability assessment of orange producing farms (Citrus sinensis) Valencia variety in the province of Chanchamayo, Junín, Peru

Abstract

The study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the sustainability of production farms of orange (Citrus sinensis), Valencia variety in the province of Chanchamayo, Junín, Peru. For this, indicators and sub-indicators were used to detect trends at the system level. For the use of indicators, economic, ecological and sociocultural aspects were taken into account; and worked with a population of 2200 producers, of which a sample of 135 was taken. The indicators were standardized and weighted according to their importance, taking into account the criteria of the producers. A workshop was held to validate the surveys, where the actors that had to do with the orange chain (Citrus sinensis) variety Valencia were invited, and the questions were determined; Subsequently, a random sample of 20 surveys were conducted to determine the complexity of the questions, in the end the questions were adjusted and the surveys were carried out throughout the Province of Chanchamayo. It is very important to note that the surveys were carried out on the farm of each producer. The study of the farms allowed us to obtain clear data on sustainability trends in a general way, since each group has its own characteristics, which are very interdependent among the three dimensions of sustainability. The information was obtained through a survey with questions related to the three dimensions of sustainability, following the multicriteria analysis methodology that allows calculating the economic indicator (IE), environmental indicator (EI) and the sociocultural indicator (SI) of each farm, with whose data are estimated in the indicator of general sustainability (IS General) of the same. It can be concluded that 79.3% of the farms evaluated had a general sustainability index (ISG <2), which determines that most farms were not sustainable. The use of indicators served to detect critical points in the systems at the time of the sustainability analysis.