COMPREHENSIVE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OF HIGH ANDEAN LLAMA PRODUCTION SYSTEMS USING THE SAFA APPROACH IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF PERU

Candio J.R.; Luque D.J.; Gutiérrez G.A.; Wurzinger M. · Ecologia Aplicada (2025) · DOI: 10.21704/rea.v24i1.2278

Resumen

The intensification of livestock farming worldwide has generated growing concern about its environmental impact. In the Peruvian highlands, llama farming has not yet been assessed from a sustainability perspective. The objective of our research was to assess the sustainability of llama farming in the San Pedro de Racco Communal Cooperative (Pasco), using the SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems) methodology. The study was developed in four phases: mapping, contextualization, selection and evaluation of indicators, and preparation of the final report. The information was collected through surveys and review of management documents provided by the cooperative. Following their evaluation and adaptation to the llama production system, 19 themes, 37 subthemes, and 67 indicators were selected and evaluated to assess their sustainability. The results revealed poor performance in the good governance dimension, average performance in the environmental integrity and economic resilience dimensions, and good performance in the social well-being dimension. It was concluded that the cooperative does not have a management focused on the sustainability of llama breeding, which could affect environmental conservation and economic resilience in the long term, putting the continuity of this traditional productive activity at risk. We believe that our research provides valuable knowledge that not only benefits the local community, but also promotes more sustainable livestock systems in the Peruvian Andes and provides new perspectives for future research. © Departamento Académico de Biología, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima – Perú.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina