Antimicrobial Use by Backyard Food Animal Producers in Ecuador: A Qualitative Study      

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobials are widely used throughout the world in food animal production for controlling and preventing disease and for promoting growth. But this trend also has the potential for promoting antimicrobial resistance, which represents a threat to human, animal, and environmental health. The use of antimicrobials and the potential effects of antimicrobial dependence has often been associated with large-scale food animal production. But rural households also engage in small-scale agricultural production, often operating literally in backyards. While some small-scale producers use veterinary antimicrobials, most do not. This paper examines knowledge and attitudes to understand alternative practices. Methods: Qualitative field research was based on four focus group discussions (FGDs) with backyard food animal producers in six communities near Quito, Ecuador and two FGDs with veterinarians. FGDs were supplemented by structured observations and key informant interviews. They were recorded with digital audio devices and transcriptions were analyzed independently by two researchers using a three-stage coding procedure. Open coding identifies underlying concepts, while axial coding develops categories and properties, and selective coding integrates the information in order to identify the key dimensions of the collective qualitative data.Results: The qualitative data analysis shows that first, backyard food animal producers use few purchased inputs, including antimicrobials for keeping small numbers of animals and poultry for predominantly non-commercial household consumption and they use traditional veterinary remedies at little or no cost. Second, indigenous households and other small-scale producers in the Ecuadorian highlands and other parts of the Andean region retain traditional views of human productive activity as a component of the physical and spiritual environment. Conclusions: Backyard food animal producers in the Ecuadorian highlands implement complex household survival strategies based on both economic calculations and sociocultural underpinnings that shape perceptions, attitudes, and practices. They use traditional veterinary remedies in lieu of antimicrobials in most cases because limited production of food animals in small spaces allows them to contribute to a predictable household food supply, while at the same time conforming to traditional concepts of human and environmental health.