Glave, M. y Escobal, J. (1995). Indicadores de sostenibilidad para la agricultura andina. Debate Agrario, (23), 89-112.

The main objective of this research is to take stock of the different approaches that have been developed to “measure” the sustainability of agricultural production systems.

Based on this systematization, in this article we suggest a methodology for approaching the problem of measuring sustainability.

The paper is divided into four parts. A discussion of the concept of sustainability itself, its origins, criteria for its measurement and different levels of analysis is presented in the first part. The second part discusses the characteristics of aggregate sustainability indicators based on the weighting of a list of partial indicators. The paper continues with a twofold methodological proposal: first, the construction of a latent variable model, “sustainability”, as a common denominator of the set of partial indicators; and, second, the review and modeling of the “net present value” (social rather than individual) of a development project as a robust indicator of its sustainability. Finally, some conclusions and methodological guidelines are presented for the empirical validation of this proposal within the scope of some of the projects of the GDRUPA and/or its members.