SUSTAINABILITY OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS OF BANANA (Musa paradisiaca AAA) IN BABAHOYO, ECUADOR

Abstract

The goal of this paper was the development and use of indicators to evaluate the sustainability of banana production farms in Babahoyo at the Province of Los Ríos, Ecuador. 84 farms, dedicated to commercial production for exportation, were analyzed. Indicators were built to assess compliance with economic, environmental and social purposes. The indicators were normalized and weighted according to their importance. The use of indicators allowed observing clear trends in general sustainability and economic, ecological and sociocultural aspects. A certain level of dependence was observed among the three dimensions of sustainability. The fulfillment of environmental purposes was restricted by economic aspects. This crop is planted in monoculture with a high dependence on agricultural pesticides, as well as a high rate of ignorance of the soil aptitude in which the banana is grown. It is concluded that the values achieved in the three types of farms for the environmental dimension make them unsustainable. Integrated pest management could be improved by reducing the intensive use of agricultural pesticides substances and using agro-ecological alternatives to increase crop diversity and control pests. Additionally, it is necessary to know the aptitude of the soils of the banana farm; this will promote an adequate use for profitable production of banana, which would contribute to the sustainability of these production systems.