Traditional agricultural knowledge of banana, cocoa and sugar cane crops as a basis for the sustainable development of the rural parish Mariscal Sucre

Abstract

The research aimed to demonstrate the impact of traditional agricultural knowledge on the sustainable development of banana, cocoa and sugar cane crops in the rural parish of Mariscal Sucre. For this, it was necessary to investigate and adopt a methodology that would estimate the degree of sustainability of the productive systems, identify how it is related to the applied practices and propose an agro-ecological management strategy for these crops. The evaluation was carried out using the MESMIS method but modified through a 30-item form applied to 61 farmers, which collected information to diagnose the incidence of agro-ecological practices and the degree of sustainability of crops. The results were processed in Excel and SPSS and presented with tables and graphs. The agricultural systems showed poor performance, falling into the category of agro-ecological unsustainability. At the same time, the most frequent customary practices consisted of the application of Mulch, and knowledge about protective and antagonistic crops. Consequently, it was determined that there is a moderately positive correlation between agro-ecological practices and sustainability with a Spearman's Rho coefficient of 0.48; therefore, the management proposal was aimed at reinforcing the productive component with agro-ecological practices. In conclusion, the customary practices contributed to the parish's sustainable development. Therefore, it is advisable to give technical training on the implementation of integrated farms and carry out campaigns to rescue traditional agricultural knowledge.