Farmers’ Typologies for the Construction of a Technological and Socioeconomic Baseline of Industrial Cassava Organizations to Guide Research, Production, and Policy Design in Colombian Caribbean Region

The cassava production system in Colombia is relevant for food security and agro-industrial development, especially in the Caribbean region. To optimize this system, it is necessary to understand the technical and socioeconomic particularities of the crop, which facilitates cost improvements and increased yields. Two main market segments are recognized in this country, cassava for human consumption and for industrial purposes (starch and animal feed). There is still no comprehensive study on the characterization of industrial cassava production systems: therefore, this work aims to identify typologies of farmers according to their technological and socioeconomic characteristics, to contribute to research and production planning. The information related to sociodemographic and technological conditions was collected through a structured survey applied to 53 organizations selected by random sampling that compiles consensual information of 1470 producers. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and a multivariate analysis of variables, such as cultivated area, yield, and proximity to markets, using the Gower method. The results indicated that in the Caribbean industrial cassava production, the average age of farmers is 47 years, with mostly men (72%), and a predominant educational level of secondary school (35%). Two groups of farmers were identified from multivariate analysis, from which group 2 (G2) represented four producer organizations (119 producers) and showed the highest yields and a larger cultivated area, suggesting that a larger scale of production is associated with better yields, which is associated with major access to technological tools and possibly technical knowledge. However, the most cassava producers (49 producer organizations and 1361 producers) had a lower cultivated area and yield, confirming that the technological level and management optimization is related to competitiveness and profitability.