Diagnosis of primary production on dairy farms in the dairy value chain project in Boyacá and Nariño, Colombia

Lilia Constanza Molano-Bernal, Leidy Patricia Tibaduiza-Castañeda, Dubert Yamil Cañar-Serna, Germán Andrés Aguilera-Arango

Abstract

Specialized bovine milk production in Colombia occurs mainly in the high tropics at altitudes above 2 000 meters above sea level. Therefore, the dairy value chain project was developed in the departments of Boyacá and Nariño. In order to make a diagnosis of primary production on dairy farms associated with the project and to determine the perception of farmers with respect to the agricultural extension service and its importance for acquiring and appropriating new technologies, a structured survey was conducted among 129 farmers in the departments of Boyacá and Nariño, taking into account 12 production and perception variables, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics with a table of frequencies. As a result of the analysis, it was established that milk production occurs on small farms. Likewise, it was determined that 80 % of the farmers in the two departments have areas dedicated to milk production between 1.0 and 5.9 ha. A marked difference was found between the yields reported by the farmers, where the average production in Boyacá is 1 103 L/ha/month, which differs from Nariño, which reported 671 L/ha/month. With respect to the agricultural extension service, 89.7 % of the farmers in Boyacá receive this service, while in Nariño 52.2 % did not answer the question and only 25.6 % reported having this service. The diagnostic study found that in the departments of Boyacá and Nariño, dairy production is carried out by small producers who are landowners and in the case of Nariño account for about 70 % of their income. In addition, the agricultural extension service is more accessible to producers in Boyacá than in Nariño.