Structured Equations to Assess the Socioeconomic and Business Factors Influencing the Financial Sustainability of Traditional Amazonian Chakra in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Abstract

This study focuses on investigating the dimensions of sustainability and their influence on financial-economic sustainability (FES) in traditional agroforestry systems (TAFS) using the case of the Amazonian Chakra. The main objectives were to analyze the dimensions of sustainability and to establish the causal relationships between these dimensions and the FES. To carry out this research, 330 households in Napo Province that use the Amazonian Chakra system to grow cocoa were selected in order to analyze the relationship between the different dimensions of sustainability and FES in this unique context. The results of the study show that practices related to food security (FS) and business factors (BF) have a positive and significant impact on the FES of cocoa-producing households in the Amazonian Chakra system. These findings support the importance of ensuring the availability and quality of food and promoting responsible business practices in these environments. In contrast, the dimensions of environmental resilience (ER) and biodiversity conservation (BC) showed a negative impact on FES, highlighting an economic-financial imbalance in relation to conservation and environmental resilience actions in the Amazonian Chakra. This study contributes to the knowledge needed to promote agricultural practices that include an equal focus on FES, biodiversity conservation, and environmental resilience practices in a globally significant area, providing valuable information for the design of sustainable agricultural policies and practices in the Amazonian Chakra.