Incidencia de la capacitación técnica y la inversión en tecnología en la productividad de los pequeños productores agrícolas del cantón Quevedo
A case study from Los Ríos, Ecuador
Keywords:
agriculture, innovation, productivityAbstract
This study explores how technical assistance influences the productivity of small farmers in Quevedo, Ecuador, where agriculture plays a central role in the local economy. Eighty farmers from a local collection center, representing diverse ages, educational backgrounds, and farming experience, participated in the research. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combined unstructured interviews, structured questionnaires, and document analysis, along with a multiple linear regression model to understand how factors such as technical support, farm size, technology use, and farmer age affect income. The results reveal that technical assistance significantly boosts farmers’ earnings, increasing average income by 73.3 USD per person by helping them adopt better cultivation practices, manage pests effectively, and optimize resources. Larger farm areas also contribute to higher income, although success depends on proper management, access to inputs, and favorable climatic conditions. These findings highlight the critical role of practical training and consistent support in improving productivity. The study concludes that providing technical assistance is essential for enhancing profitability, promoting innovative farming practices, strengthening direct sales, and fostering sustainable development in rural Quevedo.
References
Adakuia, A., & Amanor, V. (2022). Typology and performance of inter-organizational relationships among Ghanaian farmers. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 25(3), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2020.0170
Alhajj, S., Tallou, A., Lopriore, G., Vivaldi, G., Camposeo, S., Vogiatzakis, I., & Sanesi, G. (2025). A review on the role of living labs in advancing sustainable practices in rural areas: Insights from agriculture, forestry, and agroforestry systems. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 20(2), 100033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijagro.2025.100033
Allen, R., & McDonald, R. (2022). Methodological Pluralism and Innovation in Data-driven Organizational Cultures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44. https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392251313737
Atinaf, M., Karanasios, S., Molla, A., & Anteneh, S. (2020). Digitalizing agriculture extension service in Ethiopia: A design-reality gap analysis. Proceedings of the 24th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems: Information Systems (IS) for the Future, PACIS 2020. https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2020/96
Bilal, M., & Jaghdani, T. (2024). Barriers to the adoption of multiple agricultural innovations: insights from Bt cotton, wheat seeds, herbicides and no-tillage in Pakistan. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2024.2318934
Boru, E. M., Hwang, J., & Ahmad, A. (2025). Understanding the Drivers of Agricultural Innovation in Ethiopia’s Integrated Agro-Industrial Parks: A Structural Equation Modeling and Qualitative Insights Approach. Agriculture (Switzerland), 15(4), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15040355
Cairol, D., Coudel, E., Knickel, K., Caron, P., & Kroger, M. (2009). Multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas as reflected in policies: The importance and relevance of the territorial view. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 11(4), 269–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/15239080903033846
Campuzano, L., Hincapié, G., Sossa, J., Mendoza, G., Palacio, J., & Herrera, M. (2023). Barriers to the Adoption of Innovations for Sustainable Development in the Agricultural Sector—Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054374
Carro, R., & Gonzales, D. (2010). Calidad, productividad y competitividad. Calidad Total y Productividad. https://nulan.mdp.edu.ar/id/eprint/1607/1/02_productividad_competitividad.pdf
Coccia, M. (2021). Technological Innovation. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 49(3), 332–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8500.1990.tb01976.x
Conroy, H., Rondinone, G., De Salvo, C. P., & Muñoz, G. (2024). Políticas agropecuarias en América Latina y el Caribe 2023. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0013100
Cortes, C., Martinez, G., Vega, D., & Sanferman, D. (2022). Capacitación para el emprendimiento agrícola: un análisis bibliométrico. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas, 13(7), 1271–1283. https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v13i7.3136
Dalde, M., Nitivattananon, V., Sharma, D., & Ninsawat, S. (2025). Effects of urban form and socio-economic factors on transport-related carbon dioxide emissions: A structural equation approach. International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology, xxxx. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijtst.2025.01.013
Der Nederlanden, S., Schaeffer, J., Van Bakel, H., & Dirks, E. (2023). Socio-economic status and other potential risk factors for language development in the first year of life. Journal of Child Language, 42–62. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000923000478
Easwaran, C., Christopher, S. R., Moorthy, G., Mohan, P., Marimuthu, R., Koothan, V., & Nallusamy, S. (2024). Nano hybrid fertilizers: A review on the state of the art in sustainable agriculture. Science of the Total Environment, 929(June), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172533
Espejel, M., & Jiménez, M. (2019). Nivel educativo y ocupación de los padres: Su influencia en el rendimiento académico de estudiantes universitarios. RIDE Revista Iberoamericana Para La Investigación y El Desarrollo Educativo, 10(19). https://doi.org/10.23913/ride.v10i19.540
Flannery, K. (1973). The origins of agriculture. Horizons of Anthropology, 2(1973), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/c2013-0-11379-7
Fleischer, A., & Tchetchik, A. (2005). Does rural tourism benefit from agriculture? Tourism Management, 26(4), 493–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2003.10.003
Giller, K., Delaune, T., Silva, J., Van, M., Hammond, J., Descheemaeker, K., van de Ven, G., Schut, A., Taulya, G., Chikowo, R., & Andersson, J. (2021). Small farms and development in sub-Saharan Africa: Farming for food, for income or for lack of better options? Food Security, 13(6), 1431–1454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01209-0
Hinojosa, C., Sanchez, K., Camacho, A., & Arguello, H. (2023). AgroTIC: Bridging the gap between farmers, agronomists, and merchants through smartphones and machine learning. http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.12418
Hurtado, H., Londoño, T., Salazar, K. D., & Sánchez, V. (2023). Identification of learning styles in agricultural producers of the productive sectors in the department of Caquetá. Multidisciplinar (Montevideo), 1(1968), 74. https://doi.org/10.62486/agmu202374
Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos de Ecuador. (2024). Encuesta de Superficie y Producción Agropecuaria Continua. In Encuesta de Superficie y Producción Agropecuaria Continua (ESPAC). file:///C:/Users/accel/Desktop/medio ambiente/Boletin_tecnico_ESPAC_2023.pdf
Jayne, T., Wineman, A., Chamberlin, J., Muyanga, M., & Yeboah, F. (2022). Changing Farm Size Distributions and Agricultural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 14, 109–130. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-111220-025657
Jelnov, P., & Weiss, Y. (2022). Influence in economics and aging. Labour Economics, 77(August). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.101992
Jiménez, J., Contreras, I., & López, M. (2022). Lo cuantitativo y cualitativo como sustento metodológico en la investigación educativa: un análisis epistemológico. Revista Humanidades, 12(2), e51418. https://doi.org/10.15517/h.v12i2.51418
Jones, K. (2020). The Role of Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries: A Review of Literature, Issues and Recommendations for Action. Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education. https://innovate.cired.vt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ATVET-CCS-Kristal-Jones-11-12-2014-final.pdf
Khan, N., Ray, R., Kassem, H., Hussain, S., Zhang, S., Khayyam, M., Ihtisham, M., & Asongu, S. (2021). Potential role of technology innovation in transformation of sustainable food systems: A review. Agriculture (Switzerland), 11(10), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100984
Khesht, M., Jafari, H., & Alizadeh, K. (2021). The Impact of Cultivation of Medicinal Plants on the Economic Income of Rural Settlements Case study of Kalat city villages. Propósitos y Representaciones, 9(SPE2). https://doi.org/10.20511/pyr2021.v9nspe2.957
Llerena, A. (2023). 10 000 productores rurales ecuatorianos transformarán sus medios de vida gracias a un proyecto de USD 30 millones apoyado por el FIDA. Organizacion de Las Naciones Unidas, 28–30. https://ecuador.un.org/es/226123-10-000-productores-rurales-ecuatorianos-transformarán-sus-medios-de-vida-gracias-un-proyecto
Lowder, S. K., Bhalla, G., & Davis, B. (2025). Decreasing farm sizes and the viability of smallholder farmers: Implications for resilient and inclusive rural transformation. ScienceDirect.
Mantuano, D., & Luque, J. C. (2025). Sector agropecuario y su aporte en el crecimiento económico de la provincia de Manabí – Ecuador. Ciencias Sociales y Económicas, 9(1), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.18779/csye.v9i1.928
Maya, E. (2014). Métodos y Técnicas de investigación familiar. In Familia. Revista de Ciencias y Orientación Familiar (Issue 9). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. https://doi.org/10.36576/summa.28138
Mikiciuk, G., Miller, T., Kisiel, A., Cembrowska, D., Mikiciuk, M., ?obodzinska, A., & Bokszczanin, K. (2024). Harnessing Beneficial Microbes for Drought Tolerance: A Review of Ecological and Agricultural Innovations. Agriculture (Switzerland), 14(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122228
Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia. (2023). Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería. Rendición de Cuentas 2023. In Minesterio de Agricultura y Ganaderia. https://www.agricultura.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2024/03/MAG-Informe-Rendicion-de-Cuentas-2023.pdf
Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia. (2024). Boletín Comercio Exterior Comercio Exterior. In Boletín Comericio Exterior Nacional.
Montes, O., Pannell, D., & Llewellyn, R. (2021). Understanding the adoption of innovations in agriculture: A review of selected conceptual models. Agronomy, 11(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010139
Mutea, E., Jacobi, J., Rist, S., Kiteme, B., & Hossain, M. S. (2025). Agricultural commercialization and food security: Evidence and policy implications for smallholder farmers in Kenya. World Development Sustainability, 6(June), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2025.100214
Muzite, P., & Gasa, V. (2024). Experiences of students with disabilities in technical vocational education and training colleges. African Journal of Disability, 13, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/AJOD.V13I0.1477
Okello, D. (2025). Evaluating the impact of agribusiness support services on productivity and income among smallholder farmers in rural Kenya: insights from a multinomial endogenous switching regression analysis. Discover Agriculture, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00195-7
Olawale, A., Bamidele, S., Odunayo, A., Onyeka, F., & Ndubuisi, L. (2024). A comprehensive review of redefining agricultural economics for sustainable development: Overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities in a changing world. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(1), 2329–1241. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.21.1.0322
Prefectura de Los Rios. (2021). Pequeños Productores Cacaoteros De Valencia Y Quevedo Recibieron Insumos Para Sus Cultivos. https://www.losrios.gob.ec/noticia/556
Prefectura de Los Rios. (2025). Los Ríos Lidera La Producción Nacional De Cacao Gracias A Su Modelo De Capacitación Técnica. https://losrios.gob.ec/noticia/1160#:~:text=Los Ríos ha consolidado su,1%2C04 toneladas por hectárea.
Ramanakar, R. (2023). Innovations in Agricultural Machinery?: Assessing the Impact Advanced Technologies on Farm Efficiency. Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.31586/jaibd.2022.1156
Rentería, T., Ponce, P., & Ruiz, Y. (2025). Incidencia de la producción de cacao sobre el crecimiento económico del Ecuador en el periodo 2017-2020. Revista Económica, 13(1), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.54753/rve.v13i1.2318
Sampieri, R., & Mendoza, C. (2018). Metodológias de la investigación, las Rutas cuantitativas, cualitativas. In S. . de C. . McGraw-Hill Interamericana Editores (Ed.), Revista Universitaria Digital de Ciencias Sociales (RUDICS) (Vol. 10, Issue 18). https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/64591365/Metodología_de_la_investigación._Rutas_cuantitativa__cualitativa_y_mixta-libre.pdf?1601784484=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DMETODOLOGIA_DE_LA_INVESTIGACION_LAS_RUTA.pdf&Expires=1733328289
Scott, V., Jillani, Z., Malpert, A., Kolodny, J., & Wandersman, A. (2022). A scoping review of the evaluation and effectiveness of technical assistance. Implementation Science Communications, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-022-00314-1
Singh, R., & Singh, S. (2025). A Review of Indian-Based Drones in the Agriculture Sector: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 25(15), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25154876
Smith, B. (1989). Origins of Agriculture in Eastern North America. Science Magazine, 7. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-8075%2819891222%293%3A246%3A4937%3C1566%3AOOAIEN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K
Tantaleán, R. (2015). El alcance de las investigaciones jurídicas. Derecho y Cambio Social, 1, 1–25. http://www.derechoycambiosocial.com/
Torres, N., Dávalos, E., & Morales, L. (2021). Heterogeneous Effects of Agricultural Technical Assistance in Colombia. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 53(4), 459–481. https://doi.org/10.1017/aae.2021.18
Universidad Tecnica Estatal de Quevedo. (2025). UTEQ y Prefectura fortalecieron la producción cacaotera con prácticas agroecológicas Noticias relacionadas. https://www.uteq.edu.ec/comunicacion/noticia/uteq-y-prefectura-fortalecieron-la-produccion-cacaotera
Vallejo, M. (2002). El diseño de investigación: una breve revisión metodológica. Archivos de Cardiologia de Mexico, 72(1), 8–12. https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1405-99402002000100002
Vallejo, V., Rivera, M. G., & Ravera, F. (2022). The agri-food system (re)configuration: the case study of an agroecological network in the Ecuadorian Andes. Agriculture and Human Values, 39(4), 1301–1327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10318-1
Villarreal, J., Pla, L., Agudo, L., Villaláz, J., & Rosales, L. (2013). Indices De Calidad Del Suelo Em Areas Cultivadas Con Banano. Agronomia Mesoamericana, 24(2), 301–315. https://www.scielo.sa.cr/pdf/am/v24n2/a07v24n2.pdf
Yang, W., Xu, C., & Kong, F. (2022). Does Non-Food Cultivation of Cropland Increase Farmers’ Income? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127329
Ye, L. (2025). Digital economy and high-quality agricultural development. International Review of Economics and Finance, 99(March), 104028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104028
Zuluaga, S., Bermúdez, W., Oviedo, S., & Reina, M. (2011). La politica comercial del sector agricola en Colombia. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12324/19733
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
I, ____________________________________________, author of the work and/ or article, adult, residing in the city of _________________, bearing the Identity Card/Passport n.° ______________________, issued in _______________________, in command of his/her/their physical and mental faculties, party hereinafter referred to as AUTHOR, signs the following authorization so the reproduction, publication, communication and distribution of the work can be done, under the following terms:
1. That, regardless of existing legal regulations due to the relationship of the parties to this contract, and any other existing legal presumption, the parties agree that the AUTHOR authorizes the Universidad del Norte, with the purpose of reproduce, publish, communicate and distribute the material called in the Revista de Economía del Caribe.
2. That such authorization apply to the copyright of the work, by any means, known or to be known, the public communication of the work, and the distribution of the work, directly or by third parties, purely educational purposes.
3. The AUTHOR undertakes to inform and declare the existence of this authorization and to preserve the right of the journal Revista de Economía del Caribe to the first publication of the work.
4. The AUTHOR states that the article is original and his/her/their exclusive creation, there being no impediment of any kind for the authorization he/she/they is/are giving, responding thereto by any action: claim, plagiarism or any other type of complaint that might arise about.
5. That such authorization is granted for free.
6. The moral rights of the author on the article correspond exclusively to the AUTHOR, in virtue of which, the Universidad del Norte agrees to expressly and rigorously recognize and respect them.
