Small-scale family famers’ perceptions of food security in their respective communities in la macarena meta, Columbia

Jorge Alahan Hernández Quirama ()
Additional contact information
Jorge Alahan Hernández Quirama: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

SN Business & Economics, 2024, vol. 4, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract The municipality of La Macarena, Meta, due to its biodiversity, has the natural conditions to guarantee food security to its inhabitants. However, a series of historical problems put it at risk, such as the presence of the guerrillas, the planting of illicit crops, extensive cattle ranching, the absence of the state, and the lack of planning for territorial development. This research study aimed to determine small-scale family famers’ perceptions of food security in their respective communities in La Macarena Meta. A qualitative research design was employed that allowed us to understand the productive dynamics of the rural community within the framework of its social, political and economic context. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 small-scale farmers and transcribed verbatim. Further, information from the social mapping exercise and social cartography was triangulated with the interview data. Findings show a predominance of family production systems based on extensive livestock farming, with some cases of agricultural crops. Despite the farmers opportunity to employ agricultural farming, the vast majority of participants purchase their fruits and vegetables and those who grow it experience challenges with marketing their production. This paradox may potentially be cultivated and guarantee food security to its inhabitants. With this, consideration needs to be given to the socio-political context influence farmers are subjected so that concerns are addressed according to their needs. In this sense, a differential approach is necessary that strengthens the farming community according to its context and creates the conditions for rural policy strategies.

Keywords: Food security; Family farming; Livestock farming; Dispersed rural areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43546-024-00681-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:snbeco:v:4:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1007_s43546-024-00681-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer.com/journal/43546

DOI: 10.1007/s43546-024-00681-y

Access Statistics for this article

SN Business & Economics is currently edited by Gino D'Oca

More articles in SN Business & Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().