SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OF EXTENSIVE CATTLE AND SHEEP PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN SOUTHERN CHILE

Inglés. The extensive livestock systems are decreased in the last decades but have important positive influences in the environment conservation, the maintenance of the rural poblation and the health of meat and milk consumers. Extensive livestock farming has low costs and not very high incomes, so the farm profit is rather low. The present study was carried out in 2017 with 29 livestock farmers in the cold steppe area, in the Comuna of Rio Ibáñez, Aysen, Chile. The aim of this work was to compare the characteristics of the farms with a previous study conducted in 2012, assess their sustainability in 2017 and propose some improvement possibilities. The variables studied were included in five attributes according to MESMIS methodology: Productivity, Stability, Adaptability, Equity and Self-management. There were few and circumstantial changes between 2012 and 2017. The global sustainability index was calculated (58%). The sustainability values of the five attributes were low to medium (54-64%). The presented actions for the enhacement of the sustainability are related to farm and farmer’s characteristics, including the asociationism and the off-farm activities. Concerning the commercialization, farmers must have greater participation in the different processes to obtain greater added value from sales of their produce. In order to carry out the proposed actions, it may be determinant the farmer's collaboration and the administrative organism support. It is also important to make consumers and Society at large aware of the importance of the mode of extensive production systems and the differentiated quality of their productions.

Español; castellano. Extensive livestock systems have decreased in the last decades. In general, these systemsare characterized by low profitability, but they have a key role on environment conservation,maintenance of rural population, and health of meat and milk consumers. The present study wascarried out in 2017 with 29 livestock farmers in the cold steppe area, Rio Ibáñez District (Comuna deRio Ibánez), Aysén Region, Chile. The objective of this work was to compare the characteristics ofextensive cattle and sheep farms of Southern Chile with a previous study conducted in 2012, assesstheir sustainability in 2017 and propose improvement actions. The variables studied were includedin five attributes according to MESMIS methodology: Productivity, Stability, Adaptability, Equityand Self-management. There were few and circumstantial changes between 2012 and 2017. Theglobal sustainability index was calculated (58%). The values of the five sustainability attributes were54-64%. The results indicate that livestock farmers carry out valuable practices for sustainability,such as Cattle carry out short seasonal migration, Farmer vaccinates animals, Farmer desparasites animals, Does soil analyses and Farmer has done training courses. The suggested actions to improvesustainability are related to farm and farmer’s characteristics, including trading through farmers’associations and off-farm activities. Collaborative work between livestock farmers and governmentinstitutions is required to implement the proposed actions. It is also important to raise consumers’awareness of the importance of extensive production systems and the differentiated quality of theirproducts.