Identificación de las prácticas porcinas en granjas de la región Andina central de Colombia

The Colombian Swine Industry (CSI) has high pork carcass imports from the US due to the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) signed. The CSI is aimed at supplying domestic demand because not all departments are free of swine fever. In fact, pig farmers are focused on controlling the feeding costs and biosafety, and increasing the birth rate. The problem of the CSI is the search to increase profitability and eliminate intermediaries to be able to reach the consumer directly. This study is descriptive, and aims to identify the state-of-the-art of worldwide practices compared to the central Andean region of Colombia (CARC). For this, a measurement instrument was designed to identify the CSI practices, and the results were used to identify the improvement points for the CARC region. This instrument was validated with ten experts in terms of content, and these were not considered in the sampling. The results were obtained through a probabilistic sampling for a finite population comprised of pig farms located in the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Tolima, and Huila. The identified population was 191 pig farmers located in the CARC, and the sample calculated to be surveyed, was 50 pig farmers; however, the response rate was higher, and the measurement instrument was applied to 53 pig farmers. As a result, pig farmers want to create new business lines, but there is no trust with competitors. Besides, there is a deficit in technology, infrastructure, public policies, and economic incentives.