Modelling sustainability of agropastoral systems in Bolivian arid highlands. Poster
2008
Acosta Alba, Ivonne | Tichit, Muriel | Leger, François
In arid regions, agropastoralists must anticipate losses caused by drought. Herd-management practices, crop diversification, and the relative importance given to both types of production are the most important strategies. In Andean agriculture, risks exist not only for agriculture but for food availability and commerce. Increasing international demand for quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), the principal crop of this region, has multiplied the price by a factor of 15 in 10 years. In consequence, its production has grown, upsetting the balance between crops and livestock in the traditional system. Our main aim was to identify key variables needed to model a sustainable production system under new circumstances. Livestock and crop performances, technical parameters, and cash income have been identified as key factors to establish scenarios and assess sustainability of pastoral systems. Other factors, such as historical transformations of communities, economic opportunities and socio-cultural aspects also influence herd structure. Even more, not only are herds affected, but the whole production system as well. Therefore, these key factors were included in our conceptual model as interactive entities belonging to decisional, production, and economic subsystems. These factors should be added to future models, especially when studying the sustainability of traditional systems, which are culturally and socially complex and influence agricultural activities.
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