Sustainability of Bean-Producing Farms in Municipalities of Granma Province

Context: In bean cultivation, effective sustainable practices must be implemented, such as the efficient use of external inputs, agroecological practices, and soil management and conservation, accompanied by the consolidation of value chains where better management skills are observed. Aim: The purpose of the research was to evaluate the sustainability of farms dedicated to bean production in municipalities of the Granma Province. Methods: The research was based on the principles of Participatory Action Research, based on the integration of multicriteria analysis methods and tools for the study and evaluation of sustainability. To obtain the necessary information and analyze the dimensions (economic, ecological, and sociocultural), exploratory tours and informal interviews, observations and measurements were combined, and adaptation was done. Subsequently, the value of each index (ecological, economic, and social) and the General Sustainability Index (GSI) were calculated. Results: In the ecological dimension, 5 farms presented an index higher than 0.7; the farms "La América" and "El Porvenir" showed lower indices. Similar results were observed in the economic dimension, with the greatest difficulties in indicators related to the use, generation, and maximum utilization of the system's energy. In the social dimension, all farms were above the sustainability threshold of 0.5. The GSI corresponds to the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of the analyzed farms. Conclusions: The evaluated sustainability indicators show more favorable values in farms that implement a greater number of agroecological practices and knowledge that impact bean production. The farm "La Victoria" presents the highest GSI due to the implemented agroecological activities, better soil management and conservation, energy production and use, and scientific discussions.