SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS AND TYPIFICATION OF THE COW-CALF AND DUAL PURPOSE SYSTEMS IN GUALACA, PANAMA

Abstract

The aims of this study were to present a proposal as a tool for social sustainability evaluation, identify variables of the social sustainability, typify and characterize farms of the cow-calf system (SVT) and dual-purpose system (SDP) in Gualaca, Chiriquí. It was selected seven SVT and six SDP farms. A structured survey was applied based on Rios (2010) methodology. There were considered 24 variables (Xi) and conformed 12 determinant variables (VISSi) from social sustainability indexes (Kind_i). Selected variables VISSi showed CV>25%. Values (VA_i) were assigned to each X_i using Likert scales. With VISS_i, social sustainability indexes were calculated, Cind_i for SVT and Lind_i for SDP and General (VistC and VistL, respectively). Related VISSi were analyzed by multivariate analysis as principal component (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Cind_i and Lind_i were submitted to an analysis of variance. Four and three factors were identified for SVT and SDP, respectively. Cluster analysis grouped farms in three groups in both systems. Range of Cind_i was 0,000 to 0,250 in SVT farms and 0,000 to 0,222 in Lind_i of SDP farms. Higher value for VistC was 0,894 (Farm8) and in VistL was 0,817 (Farm3). Analysis of Variance showed P<0,05 among groups of farms in Cind₇, Cind₁₁ and VistC, but in SDP it was in Lind8 and Lind₁₁. These indexes are the first-one generated in Panamá and differed from the proposed by Ríos, 2010.