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Eggplant represents one of the most widely accepted vegetables in the Colombian Caribbean region due to its cultural and socio-economic importance. In this region, 585 ha were cultivated with a production of 4,298 t, in 2018, grouping 900 growers and representing 93% of the national production. However, despite its representativeness, no characterization studies of the species are evidenced. Therefore, the aim of this study was to reveal the socioeconomic, productive, and technologicalaspects linked to eggplant cultivation in productive areas from the Colombian Caribbean region. In that order, structured surveys were designed and applied. The information was analyzed through multivariate statistical methods, such as Gower’s distance and Ward’s hierarchical agglomerative clustering method. In general, the results revealed a low-medium technological level associated with eggplant production in thisregion of Colombia. Of the five groups identified, the highest level of schooling was found in groups GIV and GV, which also obtained the highest yields with 35 t ha-1 and 32 t ha-1, respectively. Sowings predominate in the month of April; this activity is related to the occurrence of precipitation in this period and the general lack of irrigation technologies by growers.

La región del sur del departamento de Córdoba, Colombia, en los últimos diez años ha presentado un crecimiento en el cultivo del cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) como alternativa de sustitución de cultivos ilícitos y de mejoras en la calidad de vida de las familias que han atravesado el conflicto  armado. El sistema de producción ha mostrado  potencialidad dado sus rendimientos que superan al promedio nacional; sin embargo, no se evidencia la presencia de un estudio que indague acerca de la eficiencia en la asignación o inversión de recursos. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo determinar la eficiencia técnica de este cultivo con información obtenida de una encuesta estructurada y aplicada a 158 cacaoteros de los municipios de Puerto Libertador, Montelíbano, Tierralta y Valencia. La información obtenida contenía variables técnicas y socioeconómicas que permitieron calcular el estado actual de la eficiencia técnica del cultivo del cacao para esta región, del país. La técnica que se usó fue la de frontera estocástica a través de la estimación de parámetros por el método de mínimos cuadrados a una función de producción tipo Cobb Douglas. A pesar de que los rendimientos no son bajos, los resultados muestran que el agricultor presenta una eficiencia técnica del 39%, lo cual se atribuye a la subutilización de factores y ocasiona una brecha en la producción. Se concluye que esta ineficiencia también está asociada a factores sociales como edad avanzada de los agricultores y los bajos niveles de escolaridad principalmente.

The objective of this work was to characterize technologically and economically the sweet chili pepper production system in the Caribbean region of Colombia. A survey was applied to 60 farmers using the simple random sampling technique. The economic returns were analyzed in the producing areas of San Juan del Cesar, in the department of La Guajira, and Ponedera, in the department of Atlántico, with an average of 0.6 hectares of the areas used for planting the sweet chili pepper. The average age of the farmers is 51 years old, with more than 11 years of experience in this crop. The results present differences in terms of production efficiency; for example, it was found that it is higher for the town of San Juan del Cesar, which is explained because the yields are higher by 7 t/ha- 1. In this zone, the net income is higher by a difference of COP 6.399.270 ha-1, concerning the town of Ponedera. It is concluded that the productive chain is not well integrated since the margins of commercialization, in general, are 0.69, which reveals that the farmer is the one who least participates in this surplus generated by the market.

Resumen La región del sur del departamento de Córdoba, Colombia, en los últimos diez años ha presentado un crecimiento en el cultivo del cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) como alternativa de sustitución de cultivos ilícitos y de mejoras en la calidad de vida de las familias que han atravesado el conficto armado. Abstract The southern region of the department of Cordoba, Colombia, in the last ten years has shown growth in the cultivation of cocoa (Theobtvma cacao L.) as an alternative to replace illicit crops and improve the quality of life of the families that They have gone through armed conflict. The objective of the work was to determine the technical efficiency of this crop with information obtained from a structured survey applied to 158 cocoa farmers in the municipalities of Puerto Libertador, Montelibano, Tierralta and Valencia. The information obtained contained technical and socioeconomic variables that allowed calculating the current state of the technical efficiency of cocoa cultivation for this region of the country.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar a nivel tecnológico y económico el sistema de producción de ají dulce en la región Caribe de Colombia. Se aplicó una encuesta a 60 agricultores a través de la técnica de muestreo aleatorio simple. Los retornos económicos se analizaron en las zonas productoras de San Juan del Cesar, en el departamento de la Guajira, y Ponedera, en el departamento del Atlántico, siendo en promedio 0.6 hectáreas las zonas empleadas para la siembra de ají dulce. La edad promedio de los agricultores es de 51 años, con más de 11 años de experiencia en este cultivo. Los resultados muestran diferencias en cuanto a la eficiencia de la producción; por ejemplo se encontró que es mayor para la localidad de San Juan del Cesar debido a que los rendimientos son mayores en 7 t/[ha.sup.-1]. En esta región, los ingresos netos son mayores por una diferencia de COP 6.399.270 [ha.sup.-1], con relación a la localidad de Ponedera. Se concluye que la cadena productiva no se halla bien integrada, por cuanto los márgenes de comercialización, en general, son de 0.69, lo cual revela que el agricultor es quien menos participa de este excedente generado por el mercado.

The cassava production system in Colombia is relevant for food security and agro-industrial development, especially in the Caribbean region. To optimize this system, it is necessary to understand the technical and socioeconomic particularities of the crop, which facilitates cost improvements and increased yields. Two main market segments are recognized in this country, cassava for human consumption and for industrial purposes (starch and animal feed). There is still no comprehensive study on the characterization of industrial cassava production systems; therefore, this work aims to identify typologies of farmers according to their technological and socioeconomic characteristics, to contribute to research and production planning. The information related to sociodemographic and technological conditions was collected through a structured survey applied to 53 organizations selected by random sampling that compiles consensual information of 1470 producers. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and a multivariate analysis of variables, such as cultivated area, yield, and proximity to markets, using the Gower method. The results indicated that in the Caribbean industrial cassava production, the average age of farmers is 47 years, with mostly men (72%), and a predominant educational level of secondary school (35%). Two groups of farmers were identified from multivariate analysis, from which group 2 (G2) represented four producer organizations (119 producers) and showed the highest yields and a larger cultivated area, suggesting that a larger scale of production is associated with better yields, which is associated with major access to technological tools and possibly technical knowledge. However, the most cassava producers (49 producer organizations and 1361 producers) had a lower cultivated area and yield, confirming that the technological level and management optimization is related to competitiveness and profitability.