Sustentabilidade da caprinocultura na região do agreste paraibano.

Abstract

The general objective of this research was to evaluate the sustainability of goat breeding in the municipalities of São João do Cariri and São José dos Cordeiros, state of Paraíba, using the MESMIS methodology. In the survey, visits were made to 30 properties located in the aforementioned municipalities, in the semi-arid region of the State, in the months of June and July 2017, using semi-structured questionnaires with the target public, goat producers. The methodology adopted was proposed by the MESMIS tool, which allowed the evaluation of the sustainability of agroecosystems considering the social and economic environmental aspects of the producers and their families that have the main production activity in goat farming. The data obtained were analyzed using multivariate analysis statistics, submitted to frequency distribution, multiple correspondence analysis and clustering. The use of the MESMIS methodology allowed the use of indicators that enabled the evaluation of the sustainability of the agroecosystems developed in the family units that were the object of study of this research from a holistic view considering factors related not only to social issues but also environmental and economic conditions. Making it possible to observe the positive and negative points of the productive activity studied and the measures taken in order to promote a more sustainable development of the same. Based on the factors listed in each of the three categories, it was possible to observe that even in the face of the water scarcity experienced by the studied municipalities, in recent years, farmers have been moving toward the sustainability of agroecosystems, by overcoming the limitations that presented in each category analyzed.