Traditional uses of fire in the agricultural activities of the Convento parish, Chone canton, Manabí, Ecuador

Abstract

The use of fire by agricultural producers is a common practice that has been used since immemorial times in most countries of the world. The objective of this study was to diagnose the traditional uses of fire in the agricultural activities of the Convento parish, Chone canton, Manabí, Ecuador. The information that forms the diagnosis was obtained by applying a semi-structured survey with open and closed questions to 70 rural producers from the Gaspar site in the Convento parish during the months of October and November 2020. The statistical analysis was carried out with the SPSS program (Version 22.0). The results show that the use of fire in the locality is common and that the majority always burn in the same places. Although they proposed not to burn on specific dates, December was the month most frequently mentioned, with the average burned area being 1.82 ha. The most important purposes of the use of fire in the locality were the burning of agricultural crop residues and the clearing of land for sowing or planting. Building gaps around the area to be burned and to observing the speed and direction of the wind were the main prevention measures taken into account in the locality where fire is used. The perception of the producers about the negative effects caused by the fire could be described as very high, since all the respondents said that the fire damages the soil and the environment. The results can be used by decision makers in the field of fire management.