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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.

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.

La investigación tuvo como finalidad revelar los aspectos socioeconómi-cos, productivos y tecnológicos del Caribe colombiano tomando como referencia el cultivo de ahuyama en la región. Para ello, se diseñaron y aplicaron encuestas estructuradas y complementariamente se realizaron talleres para la determinación de patrones de costos e indicadores econó-micos del cultivo. La información se analizó utilizando métodos multiva-riados como la distancia de Gower y el agrupamiento jerárquico de Ward. Los resultados revelan un bajo nivel en la tecnología local de producción; asimismo el cultivo presenta una baja dependencia de agroinsumos y los costos de producción son compatibles con la realidad económica del pe-queño productor

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.

En este trabajo se analizó el comportamiento del precio de dos variedades de piña Gold y Perolera en dos centrales mayoristas en Colombia. Las técnicas utilizadas fueron la de cointegración y la prueba de causalidad de Granger, para lo cual se tomaron los precios de la piña, en el periodo 2006-2011 de los mercados mayoristas de Corabastos (para el caso de Bogotá) y la Central Mayorista de Itagüí (para Medellín). El marco teórico fue la ley de precio único. El trabajo probó que existe integración de los mercados en el proceso de formación de precios. Los resultados permiten ver que existe independencia entre los precios de los dos mercados. Las pruebas de cointegración indican que las series sí están cointegradas, por lo que, en ausencia de choques externos, las series en el largo plazo convergen. Se concluye que, a pesar de que no existe causalidad entre los mercados, estos sí están integrados en el largo plazo, lo que evidencia un cumplimiento de la ley de precio único. El estudio no incluyó un análisis de las distancias entre las zonas de producción y los centros de consumo para considerar el efecto del costo del transporte al momento de fijar el precio. Una futura investigación podría considerar estas variables al igual que la calidad y las preferencias de los consumidores.

La investigación tuvo como finalidad revelar los aspectos socioeconómicos, productivos y tecnológicos asociados al cultivo de ahuyama en zonas productoras del Caribe colombiano. Para ello, se diseñaron y aplicaron encuestas estructuradas y complementariamente se realizaron talleres para la determinación de patrones de costos e indicadores económicos del cultivo. La información se analizó mediante métodos multivariados, utilizando la distancia de Gower y el agrupamiento jerárquico de Ward. Los resultados revelan un bajo nivel en la tecnología local de producción, el cultivo presenta una baja dependencia de agroinsumos y los costos de producción son compatibles con la realidad económica del pequeño productor.

Abstract The aim of this study was to establish elements to understand the consumers reasons to increase the quantities of fresh vegetables consumed in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. With information from 308 surveys applied randomly in seven cities of the Caribbean Region and using a structured survey that included variables such as age, family composition, prices, income, a Logit econometric model was formulated. Furthermore, with the contingent valuation method, parameters were estimated using maximum likelihood; moreover, the reasons that explain the possibility that families increase vegetable consumption were identified. Results allow us to appreciate first that 53 % of the surveyed respondents would be willing to increase consumption. The variable that explains mostly an increase in consumption is scholarship with a positive value of 0.7667 with a direct relationship, with a significance of 0.005, i.e. with a higher the level of education, the probability of increasing consumption is also higher, presumably because the consumer has more information about the properties and advantages that vegetables have for health. These decisions are also influenced by vegetable prices and consumer age, but in an inverse relationship, i.e. at a higher price and age, less possibility of increasing consumption was observed. On the other hand, variables such as number of family members have a direct influence on decisions to increase vegetable consumption.

The aim of this study was to establish elements to understand the consumers reasons to increase the quantities of fresh vegetables consumed in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. With information from 308 surveys applied randomly in seven cities of the Caribbean Region and using a structured survey that included variables such as age, family composition, prices, income, a Logit econometric model was formulated. Furthermore, with the contingent valuation method, parameters were estimated using maximum likelihood; moreover, the reasons that explain the possibility that families increase vegetable consumption were identified. Results allow us to appreciate first that 53 % of the surveyed respondents would be willing to increase consumption. The variable that explains mostly an increase in consumption is scholarship with a positive value of 0.7667 with a direct relationship, with a significance of 0.005, i.e. with a higher the level of education, the probability of increasing consumption is also higher, presumably because the consumer has more information about the properties and advantages that vegetables have for health. These decisions are also influenced by vegetable prices and consumer age, but in an inverse relationship, i.e. at a higher price and age, less possibility of increasing consumption was observed. On the other hand, variables such as number of family members have a direct influence on decisions to increase vegetable consumption.

Dentro de las hortalizas que se cultivan en la Región Caribe, en especial en el Valle del Sinú y la Región de Sabanas, Colombia, la berenjena ha alcanzado altos niveles de adaptación y posee gran aceptación en la dieta de los habitantes. No obstante, son escasos los estudios sobre la eficiencia económica del sistema de producción. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo determinar la eficiencia técnica del cultivo mediane un análisis del costo de producción en los tres elementos básicos que lo componen como son: la mano de obra, los insumos y los servicios. Con datos obtenidos de una encuesta aplicada a 62 agricultores seleccionados por el método de muestreo simple, la información se analizó a través de estadísticas descriptivas, análisis de correlación y la formulación de un modelo econométrico tipo Cobb Douglas que plantea una relación funcional entre las cantidades de producto y los factores que intervienen en la producción. Los resultados muestran que un aumento del uso de los insumos causa el mayor incremento en el costo total, por su parte la mano de obra lo son en menor proporción y por ultimo los servicios son los que menos inciden en el aumento de los costos. Se concluye que hay ineficiencia en el uso de los factores de producción del 52% como resultado de la diferencia entre los costos reales y los costos potenciales, es decir que por más que el productor trata de usar bien los recursos incurre en cotos adicionales del orden de $ 2.123.283 COP por hectárea.

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.