SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS AT A FARM LEVEL IN MISIONES, ARGENTINA, BY MEANS OF INDICATORS

Abstract

The evaluation of agroecosystems sustainability requires to transform complex aspects in another more simple, objectives and generals that allow to detect tendencies at a system level, called indicators. The aim of this paper was to develop a set of indicators to evaluate the sustainability of traditional agroecosystems in Misiones, Argentina. Five farms, dedicates to self-production were analysed. A set of indicators was constructed to evaluate the fulfi lled of Economics, Ecological and Socio-cultural objectives. The indicators were standardized and weighted according to its importance. The use of indicators allowed to detect clear tendencies in general sustainability index and in the ecological, economical and sociocultural dimensions. The ecological sustainability of these agroecosystems was associated to economical and sociocultural aspects. The system were ecologically sound, based on low external inputs, compatible with farmer conscience and provide an adequate diet for the family. This system fulfi lled ecological and sociocultural objectives, but only partially the economical ones. Then, farmers have to produce tobacco crop that responds to a technological model based on high inputs use to obtain economical benefi ts. It is concluded that the development of indicators is adequate to detect critical point to sustainability, to understand its causes and to propose solutions on a long time.