Evaluación participativa de la sustentabilidad en unidades productivas campesinas de Tinjacá, Colombia

Agriculture practiced at a family scale is a key production strategy for reproducing agroecological practices and ensuring food security and sovereignty. Often, small-scale production systems have notable strengths that deserve to be replicated but may also present multidimensional shortcomings that threaten their sustainability. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate, through a participatory approach, the sustainability of Small Farmers’ Production Units (SFPU) of Tinjacá (Boyacá), in central Colombia. The methodological strategy of the study was guided by the MESMIS Program (Spanish acronym for Indicator-based Sustainability Assessment Framework). The main results showed that the SFPUs in the municipality of Tinjacá have medium sustainability (ÍGS=3.1) with the highest rated environmental dimension (3.4) compared to the social (3.0) and economic (3.0) dimensions. In general, technical recommendations focus on building schools in small-scale farming communities, redesigning land parcels, and adopting agroecological practices. Collaborative efforts facilitated the collective development of viable technical solutions aimed at enhancing farm sustainability and improving the quality of life of farming families.