© 2018 Padilla-Be nal e al.
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In e na ional Food and Ag ibusiness Managemen Re iew
Volume 21 Issue 3, 2018; DOI: 10.22434/IFAMR2017.0015
Recei ed: 8 Feb ua y 2017 / Accep ed: 13 Decembe 2017
OPEN ACCESS
Views on sus ainabili y and he willingness o adop an en i onmen al
managemen sys em in he Mexican ege able sec o
REVIEW ARTICLE
Luz E. Padilla-Be nal a, Al edo La a-He e ab, Albe o Vélez Rod íguezc, and Ma ía L. Lou ei od
aP o esso -Resea che , Academic Uni o Accoun ing and Adminis a ion, Au onomous Uni e si y
o Zaca ecas, Come cio y Adminis acion s/n. Col. P og eso, Zaca ecas, Zac., Mexico
bP o esso -Resea che , Academic Uni o Ag onomy, Au onomous Uni e si y o
Zaca ecas, Ca . Zaca ecas-Guadalaja a Km 15.5 Cienegui as, Zac., Mexico
cP o esso -Resea che , Academic Uni o Elec ical Enginee ing, Au onomous Uni e si y
o Zaca ecas, A . Ramón López Vela de 801, Zaca ecas, Zac., Mexico
dP o esso -Resea che , Depa men o Economic Theo y, Uni e si y o San iago de
Compos ela, A da. das Ciencias s/n, 15782 San iago de Compos ela, Spain
Abs ac
In Mexico, ag icul u e’s main en i onmen al p oblems a e ela ed o wa e esou ces, de o es a ion and
soil e osion. These p oblems a e mo e acu e in a id o semia id egions such as in he s a e o Zaca ecas.
En i onmen al managemen sys ems (EMS) can be an al e na e means o imp o ing en i onmen al
condi ions. In his s udy, ac o s ha de e mine willingness o adop an EMS in he ege able p oduc ion uni s
o he s a e o Zaca ecas we e iden i ied. We also analysed iews on sus ainabili y and p oduc ion p ac ices
o ien ed owa d en i onmen al managemen and ca e o na u al esou ces, as well as d i e s and ba ie s o
EMS adop ion. Fac o s de e mining EMS adop ion we e le el o educa ion, awa eness o he impo ance o
ca ing o and p o ec ing na u al esou ces, applica ion o ag icul u al p ac ices o ien ed owa d p o ec ing
he en i onmen , and igno ance o en i onmen al p oblems.
Keywo ds: en i onmen al managemen sys ems, na u al esou ce managemen , ege able sec o
JEL code: Q15, Q56
Co esponding au ho : [email p o ec ed]
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1. In oduc ion
The ag icul u al sec o g ea ly depends on na u al esou ces o p oduc ion (Aigne e al., 2003; FAO, 2012a)
and can bo h ha m and bene i he en i onmen . Today’s ag icul u al p ac ices con ibu e a ound a hi d o
g eenhouse e ec gases, bu he use o good p ac ices can neu alize ca bon as well as c ea e en i onmen al
se ices and gene a e enewable ene gy while, a he same ime, con ibu e o ood secu i y (FAO, 2012a).
In his con ex , ac ions ha help o gua an ee he sus ainabili y o he ag icul u al sec o a e o g owing
impo ance. The ag icul u al p oduc ion uni s (PUs) ha o m pa o he ood p oduc ion supply chain, in
e ms o sus ainabili y, ace g ea challenges and oppo uni ies. This in ol es main aining a supply o sa e,
heal hy p oduc s, con on ing en i onmen al impac s gene a ed by ag icul u e and pu ing in o p ac ice
s anda ds o ai labou .
In he case o Mexico, he main ag o-en i onmen al p oblems a e associa ed wi h wa e esou ces and
de o es a ion. Mo eo e , he g owing impo ance o soil pollu ion h ough misuse o chemical p oduc s,
emission o g eenhouse e ec gases and soil e osion a e also highligh ed (OCDE, 2008; SEMARNAT,
2006). Acco ding o da a om INEGI (2009), he echnology used in mos o he ag icul u al a ea o Mexico
is based on he use o chemical e ilize s, he bicides and insec icides, while o ganic e ilize s a e used
o on a much smalle scale (Ga cía-Gu ié ez and Rod íguez-Meza, 2012). Howe e , hese p oblems can
be educed by implemen ing an in eg al p og am o ca e and p o ec ion o he en i onmen ha in ol es
adop ing imp o ed ag icul u al p ac ices, conse a ion measu es and managemen o en i onmen al impac s.
In a id o semia id egions, as in he s a e o Zaca ecas, hese p oblems a e much mo e acu e. In 2014 in
Zaca ecas, 87.7% o he ag icul u al a ea was ain ed and 12.3% was i iga ed (SIAP-SAGARPA, 2015).
I iga ion wa e is ex ac ed om 34 aqui e s, o which 14 (41%) is o e exploi ed, acco ding o CNA (2015).
G ound wa e is used o i iga e nea ly 150,000 h, 12% o he cul i a ed a ea o he s a e (SIAP-SGARPA,
2015). On 32.8% o his a ea, se en ege ables a e cul i a ed (chilis, onions, oma illos, po a oes, ga lic,
oma oes and le uce), gene a ing 62.3% o he alue o he p oduc ion on his a ea.
Sus ainabili y in his con ex has become a huge challenge o PUs o he ag icul u al sec o . One s ep owa d
handling his p oblem is anspa ency in e ms o he impac o he p oduc ion p ocesses o o ganiza ions on
hei ecological and social en i onmen . Consume s, ci il socie y and o he agen s in ol ed in he supply chain
inc easingly equi e ha en e p ises conside he social and en i onmen al consequences o hei ac i i ies
(Ha mann, 2011:299-304). As an al e na i e means o imp o ing en i onmen al condi ions, independen
o no ma i e aspec s (Da nall and Sides, 2008:95-97), a se ies o mechanisms o olun a y adop ion ha e
eme ged o con ibu e o he p ocess (G olleau e al., 2007; Khanna, 2001; Sege son, 2013). En i onmen al
managemen sys ems (EMS) and se e al p oduc ion p o ocols ha can be used o ce i ica ion and/o
labelling a e ound among hese mechanisms (FAO 2012b, 2014). Al hough hese mechanisms a e olun a y,
hei applica ion wi h e i iable c i e ia and s anda ds can be a p io condi ion o en e ing some ma ke s.
Al hough EMSs a e widely applied in di e en indus ial sec o s, hey a e less used in he ag icul u al
sec o , especially in de eloping coun ies (Raymond, 2012). A g owing numbe o publica ions ha e s udied,
heo e ically and empi ically, wha de e mines adop ion o olun a y measu es o en i onmen al managemen
in non-ag icul u al sec o s (e.g. A o a and Ca son, 1995; Blackman, 2008; Del B ío and Junque a, 2003;
Me li e al., 2016; Rezessy and Be oldi, 2011; Vide as and Albe ini, 2000). Applica ion o EMSs mainly in
he indus ial sec o has made ag icul u al p oduce s pe cei e hem as no applicable o hem, oo complex,
di icul and cos ly (Ca u he s, 2005). One o he main ba ie s o adop ing an EMS is he scep icism abou
he esul s in e ms o imp o ing he en i onmen and he bene i s o applying one o hei PUs. Acco ding
o Sege son (2013) he e a e se ious doub s abou he e ec i eness and e iciency o hese mechanisms o
achie ing he p oposed goals. The lack o in o ma ion on applying EMSs in ag icul u e gene a es unce ain y
ega ding he bene i s and cos s o hei implemen a ion (Ca u he s, 2005; Ca u he s and Vanclay, 2012;
Williams, 2009).
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Acco ding o SEMARNAT (2006), mos o he ag icul u al PUs in Mexico epo a lack o in o ma ion
on na u al esou ces managemen and on ca e and p o ec ion o he en i onmen . Likewise, ew s udies
epo g owe s’ iews o he impac ag icul u e has on he en i onmen , he impo ance hey gi e o he
sus ainabili y o hei PUs, he en i onmen al pe o mance o hei PUs o hei iews on he d i e s and
ba ie s o adop ing an EMS in his sec o . The aim o his s udy was o help ill he in o ma ion gap exis ing
in he si ua ion o adop ion o olun a y measu es o en i onmen al managemen in he PUs o he ag icul u al
sec o . This would allow he di e en agen s in ol ed in he sec o ’s de elopmen o ha e in o ma ion o
aid in planning hei ac i i ies in he sho and medium e m and con ibu e o he economic, social and
ecological sus ainabili y o his p oduc i e sec o .
The objec i e o his s udy is o iden i y he ac o s ha de e mine he p obabili y ha a ege able PU in he
s a e o Zaca ecas adop an EMS. Also, iews on sus ainabili y and p oduc ion p ac ices o ien ed owa d
en i onmen al managemen and ca e o na u al esou ces in he PUs we e de e mined as we e he d i e s
and ba ie s o EMS adop ion. Elemen s a e p o ided ha con ibu e o de elopmen o an EMS o he
ag icul u al sec o in Mexico. The s udy adap ed he ‘pe cep ions’ on sus ainabili y p oposed by Rankin
e al. (2011), who designed a s uc u e o es ablishing le els o sus ainabili y in ag ibusinesses in e ms
o pe cep ions, ac ions and pe o mance c i e ia. Likewise, we ollowed he p oposal o Hauschild and
Schulze-Ehle s (2014), who connec ed sus ainabili y iews, d i e s and ba ie s o conc e e acquisi ion
o p ac ices o sus ainabili y in he indus y o ood se ices. I should be men ioned ha , al hough he e
cu en ly exis di e se ools, measu emen s and s anda ds ha co e di e en dimensions o sus ainabili y
in he PUs and he supply chain (FAO, 2014; ISS, 2009), in ou s udy only en i onmen al sus ainabili y and
i s managemen a e add essed.
The esea ch ques ions we e he ollowing. Wha a e he iews on sus ainabili y o he g owe s o echnicians
o he ege able PUs? Wha is he le el o en i onmen al pe o mance o he ege able PUs? Wha a e
he d i e s and ba ie s o EMS adop ion in he ege able sec o ? Wha a e he ac o s ha de e mine he
p obabili y o he willingness o adop an EMS in he ege able PUs in he s a e o Zaca ecas?
2. Fac o s ha a ec adop ion o sus ainable ag icul u al p ac ices
As we ha e indica ed, he e is li le li e a u e on applica ion and adop ion o an EMS in ag icul u e. The e
is, howe e , a la ge body o s udies ela ed o he adop ion o inno a ions and p ac ices designed o educe
he en i onmen al impac o ag icul u e (e.g. Ajayi, 2007; Blesh and Ba e , 2006; Kon ogeo gos e al.,
2015; Welsh and Ri e s, 2011). These pape s include deba es o e how iews o he wo ld and sus ainabili y,
o a i udinal a iables, as well as he cha ac e is ics o he g owe , in luence decision-making and he
en i onmen al pe o mance o he p oduc ion uni (Welsh and Ri e s, 2011).
To de e mine which a iables co ela e wi h adop ion o acquisi ion o mo e awa eness in he applica ion
o sus ainable ag icul u al p ac ices in a s a is ically signi ican way, based on p e ious heo iza ion and
s a is ical es s, esea che s ha e egula ly applied logis ic eg ession models o p obi (Fede e al., 1985;
Knowle and B adshaw, 2007). Fo example, A ellanes and Lee (2003) analysed he de e mine s o adop ing
minimum illage in Hondu as. Likewise, Ma e al. (2009), o explo e ac o s ha unde lie he a i ude o
p oduce s owa d ag icul u al p oduc ion and hei en i onmen al awa eness, applied a model o logis ic
eg ession. The esul s e ealed ha age, educa ion and ag icul u al economic e iciency we e he h ee
ac o s ha a ec he a i ude o local p oduce s owa d ag icul u al p oduc ion. Mo eo e , Kon ogeo gos
e al. (2015), using logis ic eg ession, de e mined ha a ming expe ience, consump ion o hei own
p oduce and ecycling ag ochemical con aine s de ined he le el o en i onmen al conscien iousness o
young p oduce s in Cen al Macedonia, G eece.
S udies ha seek he easons o adop ing o no adop ing sus ainable ag icul u al p ac ices show ha he e a e
nume ous independen a iables ha egula ly explain adop ion. Howe e , as Knowle and B adshaw (2007)
s a e, he e is no enough empi ical e idence o conclude ha he e a e uni e sally signi ican a iables ha
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explain adop ion o sus ainable ag icul u al p ac ices. To p omo e adop ion o p ac ices aimed o educe he
en i onmen al impac o ag icul u e, ocalized e o mus be made in acco d wi h he pa icula condi ions
o he g owe s and he egion.
3. Ma e ials and me hods
To de e mine he p obabili y ha a PU adop an in eg al p og am o ca e and p o ec ion o he en i onmen ,
denomina ed EMS, a logis ic eg ession model was used. The iews o sus ainabili y o he su eyed
pe sonnel and he d i e s and ba ie s o adop ing an EMS we e e alua ed wi h a p incipal componen s
analysis (PCA). The p oduc ion p ac ices o he PUs o ien ed owa d en i onmen al managemen and ca e
o na u al esou ces we e de e mined by calcula ing he en i onmen al pe o mance index (EPI), ollowing
he p oposal o Ca u he s (2005). The s a is ical analysis was done wi h SPSS 23 so wa e.
3.1 Sou ces o in o ma ion and de e mina ion o he sample
Using in e iews wi h ou echnicians om ege able PUs o iden i y hei p oduc ion and en i onmen al
p o ec ion p ac ices, as well as a e iew o li e a u e on sus ainabili y and en i onmen al managemen , a
ques ionnai e was designed. The ques ionnai e was di ided in o i e sec ions (Supplemen a y Table S1). The
i s poses ques ions ela i e o hei iews on sus ainabili y. The second sec ion enqui es in o he o ien a ion
o he PU owa d en i onmen al managemen and ca e o na u al esou ces. The hi d sec ion eques s
in o ma ion on hei s a egies aimed a adop ion o an EMS (ba ie s and d i e s). In he i s h ee sec ions,
he esponses a e measu ed wi h a i e-poin Like scale. Sec ion ou is called ce i ica ion and adop ion
o an EMS. In his sec ion he e is one dicho omous ques ion abou he exis ence o ce i ica ions ela ed o
quali y, ood sa e y and en i onmen al managemen and one open ques ion abou he ype o ce i ica ions
ob ained by he PU. Also in his sec ion, a dicho omous ques ion is asked abou he willingness o he PU o
adop an in eg al p og am o ca e and p o ec ion o he en i onmen . Finally, sec ion i e con ains ques ions
abou he PU and socioeconomic in o ma ion o he in e iewee. The ques ionnai e was gi en o echnicians
o owne s o he PUs. The ques ionnai e was pilo ed in Feb ua y 2015.
The numbe o p oduce s o echnicians o be in e iewed was de e mined by ob aining a ep esen a i e
sample o he PUs ha cul i a e ege ables. The uni e se om which he sample was selec ed was he
census o ege able g owe s (chili, oma oes and ga lic) a ailable in SAGARPA, Zaca ecas Delega ion, and
associa ions o g owe s such as he Clus e de Ag icul u a P o egida, A.C. and he Sis ema P oduc o Toma e.
The sampling me hod was simple andom (Mendenhal and Reinmu h, 1981). The sample was de e mined wi h
a con idence le el o 95%, a le el o a iabili y o 0.25 (conside ing a c i e ion o maximum a iance and a
le el o p ecision o 7%). Conside ing a uni e se o 2,204 g owe s egis e ed in he censuses (chili=1,749,
oma o=278 and ga lic=177) and adjus ing wi h a ini e popula ion co ec ion ac o , he minimum sample
was 180 ques ionnai es. Du ing he pe iod o Ma ch h ough July 2015, 207 ques ionnai es we e applied,
and o hese, 202 we e comple ely answe ed and use ul o he s udy. The c i e ia o selec ion o he PUs
o be su eyed we e he ollowing: (1) an a ea o ≥10 hec a es o ege able c ops cul i a ed in he ield o
one hec a e unde p o ec ed ag icul u e; (2) ag icul u al ac i i y epo ed in 2014; and (3) willingness o he
owne o echnician o espond o ques ions. The cha ac e is ics o he PUs su eyed a e p esen ed in Table 1.
3.2 In o ma ion p ocessing
To de e mine he p obabili y o adop ing an EMS, a logis ic eg ession model was used, applying he echnique
o maximum likelihood. The dependen a iable, WEMS, is a bina y a iable equal o 1 i he PU is willing
o adop an EMS and 0 o he wise.
The independen , o explana o y, a iables we e classi ied in he ollowing way: cha ac e is ics o he PU
and in e iewee, iews on sus ainabili y, en i onmen al pe o mance o he PU, and d i e s and ba ie s o
adop ing an EMS. Some o he a iables a e obse ed and o he s we e cons uc ed h ough he ollowing
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me hodology. The cha ac e is ics o he PUs and he in e iewees conside ed we e ma ke and le el o
educa ion. These we e p ocessed as dicho omous a iables (Table 2); he a iable ma ke ook he alue o
1 i he PU comme cialized i s p oduce on na ional and/o in e na ional ma ke s and 0 i sold only in he
local ma ke . In he case o he a iable educa ion, 1 was gi en i he in e iewee had a high school o highe
(bachelo ’s o g adua e) educa ion and 0 o he wise.
Table 1. Cha ac e is ics o he p oduc ion uni s (PUs) su eyed.
Cha ac e is ic Va iable Quan i y Pe cen age
A ea cul i a ed in all o he PUs and me hod
o cul i a ion
Field (ha) 8,568.8 95.4
P o ec ed ag icul u e (ha) 415.5 4.6
To al (ha) 8,984.2 100.0
Me hod o cul i a ion in PU Only ield cul i a ion 123 60.9
Only p o ec ed ag icul u e 36 17.8
Bo h ield and p o ec ed ag icul u e 43 21.3
Type o ma ke whe e hey sell hei
p oduce
Local 76 37.6
Na ional 64 31.7
Local, na ional 54 26.7
Local, na ional and in e na ional 8 3.5
Ce i ica ions o he PU Some ype o ce i ica ion 37 18.3
No ce i ica ion 165 81.7
In e iewee le el o educa ion Elemen a y 38 18.8
Seconda y 44 21.8
High school 31 15.3
Bachelo ´s deg ee 76 37.6
G adua e deg ee 13 6.4
Gende o he in e iewees Female 17 8.4
Male 185 91.6
Table 2. De ini ion o a iables and sample s a is ics.
Fac o s Va iable De ini ion Mean S anda d
de ia ion
Willingness o adop an
En i onmen al managemen
sys ems (EMS)
WEMS 1 i he p oduc ion uni (PU) is
willing o adop a p og am o ca e
and p o ec ion o he en i onmen
0.866 0.341
Cha ac e is ics o PU and
in e iewees
Ma ke 1 i PU sells i s p oduce in domes ic
o in e na ional ma ke s
0.624 0.486
Educa ion 1 i in e iewee has high school o
highe educa ion
0.594 0.492
Views on sus ainabili y F1_RIO D i en by p o i abili y; inno a i e
and o ganiza ional
3.619 0.788
F2_socie al Social 3.917 0.791
F3_complian No ma i e 4.010 0.803
PU en i onmen al pe o mance EPI En i onmen al pe o mance index 6.528 1.691
Mo i a o s and ba ie s o EMS
adop ion
M1_in e nal In e nal mo i a o s 4.066 0.787
B1_in o ma Ba ie s a ailabili y o esou ces
and in o ma ion
3.883 0.812
B2_ ime Ba ie s a ailabili y o ime 3.252 1.067
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Views on sus ainabili y we e de e mined by he esponses o six een ques ions, adap ing he p oposals o
Rankin e al. (2011) and Hauschild and Schulze-Ehle s (2014). In e iewees we e asked o espond o
s a emen s on a scale o 1 o 5: 1=don’ ag ee o 5= o ally ag ee. Fo g ea e cla i y and o educe he a ie y
o iews on sus ainabili y, he esponses we e subjec ed o a PCA wi h Va imax o a ion. The PCA e ealed
h ee s a is ically signi ican ac o s. The c i e ion o p ese ing an indica o in a ac o was ac o ial loads
equal o o g ea e han 0.5, and o a ac o , a C onbach’s alpha coe icien g ea e han o equal o 0.70.
The C onbach’s alpha coe icien is a widely used measu e o eliabili y. Acco ding o Cu ko ic (2003),
his coe icien should ha e a alue o 0.70 o highe o mo e p ecise cons uc s and o 0.55 o 0.69 o
mode a ely b oad cons uc s. Following he i e le els o sus ainabili y p oposed by Rankin e al. (2011), he
ac o s we e denomina ed ‘d i en by p o i abili y, inno a i e and o ganiza ional’, ‘Social’ and ‘No ma i e’.
These ac o s we e con e ed in o he a iables F1_RIO, F2_socie al and F3_complian (Table 2).
In he same way, o de e mine he pe cep ion o d i e s and ba ie s o EMS adop ion, in e iewees we e
asked o espond o se en ques ions in each case on a scale o 1 o 5, in which 1=no impo an o 5=highly
impo an . To educe he a ie y o d i e s and ba ie s, he esponses we e also subjec ed o a PCA wi h
Va imax o a ion. The analysed indica o s we e ob ained based on he p oposals o Ca u he s (2005);
Ca u he s and Vanclay (2012); Co be e al. (2003); G olleau e al. (2007); Massoud e al. (2010) and Me li
e al. (2016). The PCA o he mo i a o s esul ed in wo ac o s: ‘in e nal d i e s’ and ‘compe i i eness and
compliance’. Because o C onbach’s alpha coe icien ob ained in he la e ac o , i was excluded om he
logis ic eg ession model and only he a iable M1_in e nal was e ained (Table 2).
The PCA o he ba ie s o EMS adop ion e ealed wo signi ican ac o s: ‘a ailabili y o esou ces and
in o ma ion’ and ‘a ailabili y o ime’. The wo ac o s we e con e ed in o he a iables B1_in o ma and
B2_ ime (Table 2).
The le el o en i onmen al pe o mance o he PU was ob ained by calcula ing he a iable EPI, based on
Ca u he s (2005). To his end, he in e iewees sel -e alua ed by answe ing g oups o ques ions (indica o s)
e e ing o he ollowing a iables: wa e , soil, biodi e si y, ag ochemicals, pollu ion, was e managemen ,
en i onmen al managemen o he business. The esponse scale gi en was 1 o 5, whe e 1=does no apply
o no done and 5=always applies o always done. The EPI by a iable ep esen s he ela ionship be ween
he sco e o he le el s udied ela i e o he highes possible sco e. To make all o he sco es compa able,
he highes sco e conside ed was en. The EPI was ob ained as a e ages o he conside ed a iables.
The linea model p oposed o de e mining he ac o s ha in luence willingness o adop an EMS is he
ollowing:
Y* = α + Σ4
j=1βjXji + μi, i=1, 2, 3, …, N (1)
whe e X1i ep esen s a ec o o a iables wi h cha ac e is ics o he PU and in e iewees (dicho omous
a iables Ma ke , Schooling), X
2i
p esen s he iews on sus ainabili y (F1_RIO, F2_socie al, F3_complian ),
X3i en i onmen al pe o mance o he PU (EPI) and X4i d i e s and ba ie s o EMS adop ion (M1_in e no,
B1_in o ma, B2_ ime). β1-β4 a e he coe icien s ( ec o s o scale s) o be es ima ed, α and μ a e he in e cep
and e o e m, espec i ely. The in e p e a ion o he la en a iable in models o his ype a e he po en ial
ad an ages o adop ing an EMS, ha is, he pe cei ed di e ence be ween adop ing and no adop ing an
EMS. The model is o disc e e elec ion wi h a dicho omous a iable indica ing he willingness o accep
EMS adop ion, as he dependen a iable Yi:
Y = 1 yes Y* > 0,
Y = 0 o he wise
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4. Resul s and discussion
4.1 Views on sus ainabili y in he p oduc ion uni s
Table 3 p esen s he iews on sus ainabili y conside ed in he s udy, mean, s anda d de ia ion and ac o ial
loads o he PCA. The ac o s ha we e s a is ically signi ican wi h eigen alues abo e one explain 59.55%
o he o al a iance. Indica o s wi h ac o ial loads below 0.5 we e no included in he ac o s. Fou een o
he indica o s ha e ac o ial loads abo e 0.5. The indica o s ‘s a egy o educing cos s’ and ‘s a egy o
imp o e he UP’s posi ion in he ma ke ’ ha e ac o ial loads below 0.5, and he e o e we e no included
wi h he ac o s. Likewise, he indica o ‘belie ha leads o ca ing o and p o ec ing he en i onmen ’ was
excluded om he analysis because i had ac o ial loads abo e 0.5 in mo e han one ac o .
C onbach’s alpha coe icien s o e alua ing in e nal consis ency and eliabili y we e high in he h ee ac o s,
wi h alues o 0.890, 0.760 and 0.725, espec i ely. Acco ding o Ta akol and Denick (2011), he alpha
coe icien can ake on alues om 0 o 1, conside ing a alue abo e 0.70 o be accep able, sugges ing ha
he indica o s wi h high ac o ial loads a e highly co ela ed wi hin he ac o s.
Table 3. Mean, s anda d de ia ion and ac o ial loads o he p inciple componen analysis o iews on
sus ainabili y.1
Views on sus ainabili y Mean2S anda d
de ia ion
Fac o 1 d i en
by p o i abili y;
inno a i e and
o ganiza ional
Fac o 2
social
Fac o 3
no ma i e
An in eg al pa o he p oduc ion uni (PU) co e 3.30 1.080 0.794 0.124 0.125
A se o alues ha guide he wo k o he PU 3.38 1.092 0.776 0.137 0.230
A way o s eng hen he PU’s image 3.76 1.048 0.709 0.255 0.188
A way o imp o e he wo k en i onmen 3.53 1.116 0.706 0.389 0.053
A way o educe isks in he PU 3.64 1.018 0.659 0.308 0.070
A alue in eg a ed in o he PU 3.43 1.011 0.599 0.099 0.432
A s a egy o imp o ing he PU’s posi ion in he
long un
4.04 0.951 0.587 0.496 -0.023
An oppo uni y o imp o e income 3.84 1.045 0.560 0.430 0.216
A way o educe impac s on he en i onmen o
p ese e i o he u u e
4.32 0.798 0.221 0.807 0.146
A way o educe hunge and inc ease social well-
being
3.72 1.015 0.258 0.687 0.132
A way o exp ess solida i y wi h o he g owe s 3.71 1.068 0.266 0.579 0.315
A belie ha leads o ca ing o and p o ec ing he
en i onmen
4.18 0.891 0.058 0.533 0.531
Compliance wi h laws and s anda ds o
en i onmen al p o ec ion
3.95 0.926 0.168 0.110 0.848
P oduc ion o sa e p oduc s o consume s 4.07 0.886 0.097 0.294 0.714
A s a egy o educing cos s 3.58 1.100 0.471 0.025 0.491
A s a egy o imp o ing he PU’s posi ion on he
ma ke
3.85 1.066 0.471 0.422 0.361
Eigen alue 6.978 1.455 1.094
C onbach’s Alpha 0.890 0.760 0.725
1 To al obse a ions = 202; Kaise -Maye -Olkin = 0.898; alues ≥0.5 (bold) a e conside ed in he ac o .
2 Scale: 1 = no applicable o don’ ag ee o 5 = in o al ag eemen .
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The PCA ound simila i ies among he le els o o ganiza ion sus ainabili y p oposed by Rankin e al.
(2011). A ac o was iden i ied in which indica o s a e ound ha show ha he PUs only pe o m ac ions
in a ou o he en i onmen o socie y o comply wi h es ablished laws and indus ial s anda ds (Le el 1).
Ano he ac o includes indica o s ha comp ise he aspec s ela i e o wha he au ho s de ine as ‘D i en by
p o i abili y; inno a i e and o ganiza ional’ (Le els 2, 3, and 4) and a hi d ac o ha conside s indica o s
whose social aspec s a e o p ime impo ance. I should be poin ed ou when asked he ques ion abou he
impo ance o sus ainabili y in he PU, 64.8% o he in e iewees answe ed ha i was impo an o e y
impo an . Howe e , 12.4% said i was no impo an o had li le impo ance.
4.2 P oduc ion p ac ices o ien ed owa d en i onmen al managemen and ca e o na u al esou ces
Rega ding p ac ices aimed owa d p oduc ion and ca e o he en i onmen and ca ied ou in he PUs s udied,
i was ound ha he ac i i ies ha a e mos neglec ed a e hose ela ed o he business’ en i onmen al
managemen (5.54), which include aspec s such as designing o mal en i onmen al con ingency plans,
p og am o educing solid and g een was e, aining p og am in en i onmen al aspec s o wo ke s, use o
echnology ha sa e wa e and ene gy, ha is, ac ions ha would lead o en i onmen al managemen . Wa e
is ano he o he a iables ha had one o he lowes alues (5.99). To e alua e his a iable, he ollowing
aspec s we e analysed: ca e o a oid pollu ing he aqui e s, analysis o i iga ion wa e , i iga ion applica ion
e iciency and ainwa e ha es ing.
The a iables biodi e si y and ag ochemicals, which ep esen conse a ion o he egion’s lo a and auna,
and use and handling o ag ochemicals applied o he c ops ha e highe a e age indexes (7.33 and 7.18) (Table
4). In he case o ag ochemicals, he ollowing was included: sui able s o age o ag ochemicals, e icien
applica ion o ag ochemicals o c ops, in eg a ed pes managemen and use o only hose ag ochemicals
au ho ized by egula ing o ganisms. The high alue ob ained in he a iable biodi e si y is a ibu ed o
some g owe s’ awa eness ha p e en s hem om ha ming animals o he egion and o he egion’s sca ce
ege a ion. The alue ob ained in he case o ag ochemicals is mos ly a ibu ed o go e nmen di ulga ion
p og ams ha p omo e good use and handling o ag ochemicals (BUMA) (SENASICA, 2014) and educing
pollu ion du ing hei applica ion – Sis ema de Reducción de Riesgos de Con aminación de P oducción
P ima ia de Vege ales (SRRC) (SENASICA, 2010).
By g oups o PUs, classi ied by ma ke ype, he lowes index was ob ained by he PUs ha sell hei p oduce
only on he local ma ke (5.78), while he highes (6.98) was o he g oup ha sell hei p oduce mos ly on
he na ional and/o in e na ional ma ke s. The es o equali y o means showed ha he e a e signi ican
di e ences in he se en a e ages o he e alua ed a iables o en i onmen al pe o mance (wa e , soil,
biodi e si y, ag ochemicals, pollu ion, was e managemen and business en i onmen al managemen ), as
Table 4. En i onmen al pe o mance in he ege able p oduc ion uni s by ma ke ype.
Va iable Local Local, domes ic and/
o in e na ional
Index
Mean S anda d
de ia ion
Mean S anda d
de ia ion
Mean S anda d
de ia ion
Wa e 5.44 1.72 6.32 1.64 5.99 1.72
Soil 5.92 1.58 7.15 1.88 6.69 1.87
Biodi e si y 6.91 1.68 7.58 1.69 7.33 1.71
Ag ochemicals 6.06 2.19 7.85 1.91 7.18 2.19
Pollu ion 6.04 2.00 7.30 1.92 6.82 2.04
Was e managemen 5.13 2.41 6.74 2.53 6.13 2.60
Business en i onmen al managemen 4.89 2.30 5.93 2.09 5.54 2.22
En i onmen al pe o mance index 5.78 1.61 6.98 1.58 6.53 1.69
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well as in he EPI, be ween he PUs ha a e mos ly o ien ed owa d local ma ke s and hose ha a e o ien ed
owa d na ional and in e na ional ma ke s (P<0.05), sugges ing ha he ma ke in which he PUs sell hei
p oduce ma ks di e ences in hei p oduc ion p ac ices and ca e o he en i onmen .
I should be highligh ed ha 37 (18.3%) o he PUs s udied ha e some ype o ce i ica ion ela ed o sa e y
o quali y o hei p oduce, en i onmen al p o ec ion and/o well-being o hei wo ke s, such as P imusLabs,
Buenas P ác icas Ag ícolas and BUMA. The o he 165 (81.7%) ha e ne e been ce i ied. In he g oup o
ce i ied PU he e a e eigh ha ship hei p oduce o in e na ional ma ke s.
4.3 D i e s and ba ie s o adop ing an en i onmen al managemen sys em
Acco ding o Ca u he s and Vanclay (2012), EMS adop ion is mul i-dimensional, encompassing di e en
ac o s, such as p essu e om consume s and o he ac o s o he alue chain and he desi e o imp o e
pe o mance and implemen an in eg a ed managemen sys em (G olleau e al., 2007; Ca u he s and Vanclay,
2012), among o he aspec s. Al hough i should be poin ed ou ha ac o s change o e ime can a y in
acco d wi h indi idual ci cums ances and con ex .
Table 5 p esen s he ac o ial loads o he PCA, he mean and s anda d de ia ion o he se en d i e s o EMS
adop ion analysed. Two ac o s esul ed in eigen alues abo e one: ‘In e nal d i e s’ and ‘compe i i eness and
compliance’, explaining 64.6% o he o al a iance. The se en indica o s showed ac o ial loads abo e 0.5.
The ac o denomina ed ‘in e nal d i e s’ had a C onhach’s alpha coe icien abo e 0.7, while in he ac o
‘compe i i eness and compliance’, his coe icien was 0.629, and so, was excluded om la e analyses.
The d i e s he in e iewees conside ed mos impo an o adop ing an EMS we e ha i acili a es access o
na ional and in e na ional ma ke s (4.51) and educes p oduc ion cos s (4.38), ollowed by PU sus ainabili y
(4.21). These esponses a e cong uen wi h he indings o Ca u he s (2005); Ca u he s and Vanclay (2012)
and SAI Pla o m (2015) in ha he ma ke is a de e mining ac o o applica ion o good ag icul u al p ac ices.
In e ms o ba ie s o EMS adop ion (Ca u he s, 2005; Ca u he s and Vanclay, 2012; G olleau e al., 2007;
Massoud e al., 2010; Me li e al., 2016; Williams e al., 2000), Table 6 p esen s he mean, s anda d de ia ion
and wo ac o s esul ing om he PCA. These we e denomina ed ‘a ailabili y o esou ces and in o ma ion’
and ‘a ailabili y o ime’ and had eigen alues abo e one and C onbach’s alpha coe icien s abo e 0.7. They
explained 62.2% o he a iance. The ac o ial loads o all he indica o s su passed 0.5.
Table 5. D i e s o adop ing an en i onmen al managemen sys em.1
D i e s Mean2S anda d
de ia ion
Fac o 1
in e nal
Fac o 2
compe i i eness
and compliance
Consis ency wi h pe sonal p inciples 3.92 0.989 0.896 0.116
P e en ha m o wo ke s 4.01 0.990 0.863 0.117
Imp o e he p oduc ion uni ’s image 4.11 0.978 0.656 0.404
Imp o e p oduc ion uni sus ainabili y 4.21 0.886 0.646 0.436
Reduce p oduc ion cos s 4.38 0.902 0.041 0.807
Facili a e access o na ional and in e na ional ma ke s 4.51 0.806 0.251 0.746
Compliance wi h no ms o en i onmen al p o ec ion 3.76 0.963 0.406 0.560
Eigen alue 3.515 1.011
C onbach’s alpha 0.835 0.629
1 To al obse a ions = 202; Kaise -Maye -Olkin = 0.839; alues ≥0.5 (bold) a e conside ed in he ac o .
2 Scale: 1 = no impo an o 5 = highly impo an .
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