Evaluación Agroecológica del modelo productivo de Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) en el municipio de Arauquita (Arauca).

Abstract

The plant species Plukenetia volubilis Linnaeus is an oleaginous plant native to the Amazon, commonly known as Sacha Inchi, Inca peanut, etc. Due to its important nutritional content, Sacha Inchi is popular all over the world, so the demand for its products is very high in national and international markets. The purpose of this research was to evaluate agroecologically the production model of Sacha Inchi (P. volubilis) in the municipality of Arauquita (Arauca). A mixed research methodology was applied, i.e. one part is quantitative and the other qualitative. The quantitative part was supported by applying a survey to 50 producers, 40 farmers who are part of Independent Agroindustrial Business Units, distributed in 20 villages and 10 ex-combatants of the former FARC-EP, located in the Philippine AETCR. The questionnaire consisted of 57 multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Some aspects analyzed were socioeconomic, socio-cultural, environmental and agroecological. For the qualitative part, data collection was done through focus groups, farm and crop observation. For the presentation of the results, the most relevant information in each case was highlighted and complemented with factor maps obtained by multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). The significance level for the statistical tests was 5% and the statistical packages used were SPSS and R version 4.1. Together with the producers, an agreed plan was designed for the agroecological management of the Sacha Inchi crop, where some limitations were found in the Sacha Inchi crop, such as low production, sales, grain processing and the limited application of sustainable practices for pest and disease control. The implementation of a good extension service and a concerted plan for sustainable agroecological management of this crop is recommended.