Caracterización del sistema de producción de leche en pequeña escala de la zona suroriente del Estado de México

The objective was to characterize the small-scale milk production system (SSMPS) in the southeastern region of Estado de Mexico. A semi-structured survey was applied to the population (153 producers) corresponding to the municipalities of Amecameca and Ayapango, considering productive (scale), technical (productive system) and social (workforce) dimensions. Factorial Analysis by principal components was used to characterize, and then Cluster Analysis. Five factors were obtained from the factorial analysis, which explain 66% of the total variation; the first factor groups them by scale, the second by educational level, the third by agricultural and livestock diversity, the fourth by sanitary management practices, and the last by the ability to remain throughout time. The Cluster Analysis allowed identifying three groups of producers, the first with higher scale and with lower production, the second with lower scale although higher amount of milk per cow, while the third is between the previous two. It is concluded that small-scale production is heterogeneous, the productive level is low, there are no productive technologies used, and the system is considered subsistence, although there is a group with potential to increase milk production.