Viabilidad económica y financiera de sistemas silvopastoriles con Jatropha curcas L. en Manabí, Ecuador

Objective. To assess the economic and financial feasibility of traditional silvopastoral systems for the biofuels production as a contribution to the sustainability of “Pinon for Galapagos” project. Materials and methods . A survey was conducted to 450 small livestock producer in 10 cantons of the Manabi province in order to collect basic agronomic knowledge, management, establishment and costs involved in production of the Pinon (( Jatropha curcas L.)/Savoy ( Megathyrsus maximus ) silvopastoral systems. For Pinon CP041 production recording plantation in live fence were stablished and for the tradition Pinon, the production of 10 sites were recorded, both systems since 2009. With those data were calculated the following economic indicators: ratio benefit/cost, net present value (NPV), internal rate ratio (IRR) and land expectation value (LEV). Results.  The study exhibited a production decrease of Pinon with the passage of time. The CP041 INIAP improved silvopastoral system Pinon showed a B/C 1.07, NPV of USD$ 404.11, LEV US$ 970.23 and IRR of 18%. Followed by silvopastoral system with a local Pinon with a B/C 1.06, NPV of USD$ 363.66, LEV USD$ 873.10 and IRR of 17% and finally silvopastoral system without harvesting Pinon with a B/C 1.05, NPV of USD$ 285.72, LEV USD$ 685.99 and IRR of 15%. Conclusions. The alternative biofuels production was the silvopastoral systems (INIAP CP041)/Savoya in Manabi and is economically feasible. This system does not compete for arable land for food production and would not affect food security.