Proposal of agroecological management of livestock systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon region

Abstract

In recent decades, livestock farming has grown tremendously in Ecuadorian Amazon, which
has resulted in increased deforestation and the agricultural frontier with negative consequences
on the ecosystem. The work aimed in elaborating a proposal of agroecological management
of livestock Production Units (PU) in the province of Pastaza, Ecuador. A total of 45 PU
were selected and for their characterization a structured survey was used for the indicators
analysis. A principal components analysis was performed, selecting those eigenvalues greater
than 1 as the parameters of higher weight that were established for the proposal. Four component
reached 63.64% of the total variance, being the highest weight indicators the pasture
area, herd distribution, number of milking cows, milk production, number of calves, heifers average,
young heifers pre-pregnant, cows in dry production representing those parameters that
determine the productive efficiency of the PU. It is shown that livestock PU in the Ecuadorian
Amazon are inefficient and contribute to the increase of the agricultural frontier and deforestation,
affecting the ecosystem. As an agroecological alternative, it is proposed the implementation
of agroforestry systems, protein bank, association of grasses with legumes, incorporation
of native races, in combination with good agricultural and livestock practices.