Characterization and Typology of Backyard Small Pig Farms in Jipijapa, Ecuador

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The Jipijapa region in the south of Manabí Province has the maximum contribution to the pig market in Ecuador. In this region, backyard pig production is important for the economy of the small family units. The main objective of this paper was to characterize the traditional systems of Jipijapa’s small-scale pig producers and determine the farm categories according to the current characteristics of those systems for the implementation of the aid policy in the country. The study identified differences between the seven communities studied for social, productive, and local resource variables. Five types of farms were identified by multifactorial and hierarchic cluster analyses. The aspects that most contributed to the differences between those types of farms were the location, the age, the agricultural activities, the participation of women as owners of farms, the use of indigenous resources in construction, the genetics of the animals, and the food sources used. We determined that the rearing of pigs by small pig farmers of the Jipijapa region is, fundamentally, a social activity and is linked to the crops of each area. ABSTRACT: To characterize the traditional systems of small pig producers in Jipijapa (Manabí, Ecuador) and to classify farms into representative categories, we interviewed fifty-five farmers from seven communities considering four dimensions: social, organizational, production methods, and local food resources. Multiple correspondence analyses and hierarchical clusters were carried out using the Ward method. The analysis differentiated communities based on social, productive, and local resource variables, showing three factors that accounted for 85.3% of the total variance: the socioeconomic dimension, related to the welfare of families, explained 34.4% of the variation, the care provided to animals explained 30.9%, and the management practices for the supply of food explained 20%. We identified five clusters that shared common characteristics: Group 1 included farmers from Albajacal, wage workers, and Creole pig breeders, Group 2 included farmers raising pigs under lockdown conditions, Group 3 typified traditional farms from the La Cuesta community, Group 4 included landowners, and Group 5 included professionalized farmers in Colón Alfaro. We also studied the supplied alternative food formulations made up of crop surpluses. The role of small pig farmers is a social activity linked to the location, the crops of each area, and the specific practices for the care of animals.