Population structure
Today, the interior dryland is inhabited by a large number of small farmers advanced in age and with a low educational level. A study conducted in 1979 by Dominic, showed that young adults tend to migrate temporarily (for a few months) or permanently looking for better income opportunities (Ovalle, 1994). This implies that the farm is run by older people or women.
Table 5: Area managed by producers at different age range.
As shown in Table 5, almost 50% of the utilized area in the study site area is managed by people over 60 years old. If we add people over 50 this percentage rise to 75%. This is relevant information for technology adoption, since age is usually an important constraint to introduce new practices and technology in the farm. Furthermore, farms in the study area are mostly managed by males (81%) (Table 6).
Table 6: Area managed by females and males
