Socioeconomic analysis of farms in Zetaquira, Boyacá Colombia

Abstract

In Colombia the social problems of the rural population multiply and aggravate in rural regions, where exist acute problems of housing, unemployment and underemployment, scarcity of public services, social security among others, that negatively influence the agricultural sector, therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of life of agricultural producers, characteristics of the farms, agricultural technology component of these trails, to open the possibility at the municipal level to propose alternatives for agricultural development oriented towards the adoption of socioeconomic policies that adjust to the farmer of the area and that contribute to improving marketing, distribution and processing systems of the available resources with a view to increasing the economic income to the family nucleus, thus improving the quality of life of the farmers of the area. The research that was developed was a case study applied through four phases that involved: A quick and accurate diagnosis, about logistics practices between producers associated with marketing channels for agricultural products on the sidewalks, supported by surveys applied to producers established in each Family Farming Unit (UAF), analysis of the operation and logistics infrastructure schemes between the UAF and its economic environment to make viable the farmer economy, strategic exploration of the socioeconomic situation in the villages, and formulation of application bases within the survey. Subsequently, an analysis questionnaire was designed that quantified and qualified the priorities of objective information collected from each of the groups surveyed. It was found that in the villages of Guanatá and Hormigas the socioeconomic conditions are based on agriculture and intensive livestock with different bovine races; where coffee is a crop that maintains economic and socially dynamic the financial situation of the families of these villages by 60%, this product is the most cultivated in the farms, for the harvested area, easy access to credits and technical support for its high percentage in the value of agricultural production and as a generator of employment; however, its participation in the market has been reduced dramatically, which has driven the cultivation of perennials based on fruit trees in 40.21% of the total production of the area. With regard to cattle farming, sustainable dynamics have been generated over time with breeding activities (56%), release (32.65%) and fattening (11.22%), with a tendency towards participation of the farmer economy in the dairy and meat sector at the regional level, in charge of family units that in their majority are owners of farms with technified processes for the maintenance of the animals and the production of dairy and its derivatives.