Evaluation of the sustainability in coffee production systems (Coffea Arabica L) in La Unión, Nariño, Colombia

In the municipality of La Unión Nariño, coffee cultivation is the main economic activity and is managed under different production systems: shade coffee, semi-shade coffee, banana-coffee, and coffee without shade. Due to their high degree of heterogeneity, it is difficult for producers and technicians to make decisions that guarantee the sustainability of these agroecosystems. Sustainability was evaluated and compared using multivariate statistical procedures and a minimum set of variables (CMV) was selected. With the integration of these values the environmental, economic, and social sub-index was formed, which allowed comparing the sustainability of production systems through the AMOEBA method (A general Method for Ecological and Biological Assessment). To assess sustainability, the General Sustainability Index (IGS) was developed, built from a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the standardized variables. The information obtained was integrated into an index that allowed qualifying the systems through the Sustainability Biogram. The study found that from the economic, social, and environmental point of view, the shaded coffee production systems with a rating of 0.649 and semi-shaded coffee with 0.601 are located in the category of good sustainability. The shade-free coffee and banana coffee systems, with values of 0.405 and 0.490 according to the assessment scale, are located as systems in a regular state of sustainability. The foregoing conclusion will allow analyzing the critical and very critical points, which helps with understanding and evaluating the potential to propose solutions that are feasible to bring the systems closer to good or optimal sustainability.