Opportunities for territorial development in the transisthmic corridor; baseline diagnosis in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca

Resumen

Objective: The main objective was to know the current situation of livestock production, problems and potentialities, in the municipalities of Matías Romero, Santa María Petapa and San Juan Guichicovi, Oaxaca, located in the transoceanic corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Design/methodology/approach: The diagnosis was made in eight communities in the municipalities of Matías Romero, Santa María Petapa and San Juan Guichicovi, located north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, Oaxaca. To determine the sample size, the formula suggested by (Snedecor and Cochran, 1967 and Rojas, 1979) was used. It indicates that the elements must be selected through a random draw with replacement, to define the population, the list of production units registered in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, whose universe is 215, from which, a sample of 41 units was taken.

Results: 36% of the interviewees indicated that the ownership of their land is ejidal, 34% is communal and 30% is small property. The interviewed livestock producers develop their livestock activities on an average of 37 hectares. The production units with the smallest area are 8.5 hectares and those with the largest area are 140 hectares. Of the total number of interviewees, 78% provide themselves with water for cattle in the pasture or corrals, coming from rivers and streams, other sources are springs with 12% and dams with 10%. It is considered that the characteristics described provide adequate conditions for livestock. A problem that afflicts livestock in the tropics in the presence of Ixodoida spp, in addition to other types of Mites, the options and alternatives to combat the tick in the PRODETER territory are through the bathroom, regularly it is done by using spray backpack, also the use of Pour on (loin) and tick-killing baths. The misuse of tick control products has generated resistance and problems for farmers (Piña et al., 2017). More than half of the farmers do not participate in animal health campaigns, only 36% do participate. The animal health campaigns in which farmers participate in PRODETER are bovine tuberculosis and paralytic rabies, 24% respectively, tick control 20% and finally brucellosis with 16%. Leos-Rodríguez, (2008) in the work of economic and productive characterization of bovine cattle producers that make up the list of PROGAN beneficiaries in Mexico, observed that the percentage of producers that participated in campaigns against ticks, tuberculosis and brucellosis is above 91%. What is superior to what was found in this diagnosis.

Limitations on study/implications:

One of the main limitations was that the PRODETER Program was financed by the State for one year only and with that, in the first instance, it limited the intervention to see the effects and levels of adoption of the technological model in the Family Production Units

Findings/conclusions:

There is ignorance in the use of food supplements, so the development of calves, and the milk production and fertility of the cows, do not express the potential due to the lack of the necessary nutrients in the different productive stages. There is little use of the rangelands because the farmers ignore the practices to give maintenance, make divisions in the paddocks, so they do not rotate. Among the problems detected, the following stand out, among others: the lack of training, the lack of availability of technicians or experts to attend them, the cost of artificial insemination technology and the long periods between births, which causes calf production to decrease. Therefore, the lack of training in artificial insemination, stallion evaluation and crossbreeding systems for genetic improvement, limit the development of livestock with better quality standards in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. The diagnosis as such provides elements for the territorial development of livestock in the transoceanic corridor, since it offers areas of opportunity throughout the production process and can satisfactorily help livestock in that region