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Social and commercial profile of the sheep and goat cattle systems in the Northwestern region of the Dominican Republic

Abstract:

In order to study the social and commercial aspects that characterize the sheep and goat cattle production systems in the Northwestern region of the Dominican Republic, 94 farms (24% of the population) were sampled, applying the direct survey method through random sampling with proportional weighting. The farms comprising this cattle system are 82% family owned, with a standing of 16 ±1.3 years. Of the owners, 93% are men, with average age of 51 ±1.2 years; 63% began primary schooling and 8% did not go to school. The land ownership regime is related to the type of exploitation according to the productive species (p<0.05); 84% of goat farms are on public land, and sheep and mixed farms make a larger use of private lots. For 53% of the owners the production of sheep and goats is their main activity and 75% of the farms use family labor. Marketing is carried out through long channels to butchers (70%), while 14% of the farms sell directly to consumers. The system under study is characterized by family farms whose owners are of advanced age, low training level, with a high dependency on public land y meager participation of the producer in marketing. This situation limits access to cbkp_redit, as well as technological adoption and innovation. Finally, it is considered that the promotion of associations could help overcome such restrictions.