Sustainability assessment in a non-specialized pig production system in the municipality of Holguín

Abstract

In order to assess the sustainability of a non-specialized pig production system using the IDEA-4 method as a tool, this research was developed in the San Rafael Popular Council, Holguín municipality, during the first half of 2025. The instrument for data collection was a semi-structured interview, which was contextualized to diagnose the behavior of 45 indicators in the ecological (18), economic (8), and social (19) dimensions, with scores of 0: null, 1: very low, 2: low, 3: average, 4: moderately high, and 5: high or optimal, taking the threshold score of 3. The analysis of the zootechnical indicators corresponding to the fattening of pigs was addressed within the macro indicator of animal welfare and the nutritional base and the available food diversity in the ecological indicators. The results showed that the mortality indicator was the only one that presented an optimal value (5), making it the most sustainable. The dimensions studied surpass the threshold level established in this research to be declared as a farm with a tendency towards sustainability, with a viable and equitable economic development given the interaction between them; highlighting the behavior of the zootechnical indicators as the reason for the investigated system. The methodology used and the results allowed for an advancement in the understanding of pig production in the non-specialized system, which will enable the definition of new lines of research to improve its sustainability indices and minimize the gaps between theory and its implementation.

Keywords: Pig production, sustainability, zootechnical indicators, ecological, economic, and social dimensions