Ancestral Knowledge and Traditional Practices which Strengthen the Sustainability of Horticultural Systems in San Joaquin Parish

This study aims to establish whether the ancestral and traditional knowledge and practices developed by farmers in the parish of San Joaquín, Cantón Cuenca, strengthen the sustainability of horticultural systems. To determine whether these systems remain productive over time, the Framework for the Evaluation of Natural Resource Management Systems Incorporating Sustainability Indicators (MESMIS) was used, comparing the productive practices of a conventional farm with nine agroecological farms, where the critical points of the horticultural systems were established in order to modify them in the future and achieve more sustainable productive systems despite being intensive. The study established a minimum value of 2.8/5 (56%) and a maximum of 3.8/5 (76%) in the environmental dimension, a minimum value of 3.2/5 (64%) and a maximum value of 4.8/5 (96%) in the social dimension, and a minimum value of 2.6/5 (52%) and a maximum of 4.8/5 (96%) in the economic dimension. The horticultural systems have a significant degree of sustainability, since the three agroecological dimensions are above average, due to the fact that the farmers develop diverse ancestral, traditional and cultural practices within the agroecosystems, such as: social, internal family associativity for production and commercialization, production, association, rotation and biodiversity, achieving a diversified production that generates economic benefits to improve the quality of life of each of the members that make up the farming family.