Competitiveness in organic agricultural micro-enterprises in the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos, Baja California Sur

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the level of competitiveness in agricultural micro-enterprises under organic production systems operating in the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Design/ Methodology/ Approach: through a non-probabilistic sampling technique of an intentional type, socioeconomic information and factors associated with competitiveness were collected in eight micro-enterprises. The level of competitiveness was determined using specific items, implementing the Likert scale in the valuation. Micro-enterprises were characterized and classified into groups through the statistical techniques of principal components analysis and cluster analysis.

Results: owners or representatives of the micro-enterprises averaged 43.8 years of age, 12.9 years of education, and 8.9 years of seniority in the activity, while the main crops produced were vegetables. Micro-enterprises varied in their competitiveness; it is necessary to strengthen aspects such as value chain, innovation management, associativity, and the implementation of public policies for agriculture. The multivariate analysis formed four groups due to their similarity in relation to the level of competitiveness.

Limitations/ Implications of the study: results showed the level of competitiveness of the participating micro-enterprises and not of the total population of micro-enterprises. This is due to the lack of an official micro-enterprise registry, and to the reluctant attitude of some owners or representatives to provide information, thus sample size was limited.

Findings/ Conclusions: this research was very useful in the identification of areas of opportunity and the definition of strategies intending to increase the competitiveness of those micro-enterprises dedicated to organic agriculture.