The social indicators proposed deal with several issues: i) Multi-functionality (multi-activity of producers, maintenance of the craft tradition on the transformation of the products, and searching for new marketing channels, among others); ii) Membership in professional associations and level of participation; iii) Implication on local social activities; iv) Social welfare (especially related with working issues); and v) Continuity of the goats livestock activity (possibilities for continuation of the farm, farmer’s age, adaptation to innovations, educational and agricultural training levels).
1. Multifunctionality. This group of indicators is composed by: (i) Economic diversity and diversification: a complex indicator that assesses other activities carried out by the farmer on his farm: other livestock species, agricultural crops, forestry, hunting and rural tourism activities. This indicator also evaluates other economic activities carried out by the farmer outside the farm. (ii) Maintaining tradition in processing milk: this indicator assesses the fact of transforming raw material in some traditional products. (iii) Marketing capability: saling milk to local artesanal cheese-makers or a livestock cooperative; or his elaborated products. (iv) Quality acknowledgment products: this indicator assesses if the productions have any official certification of quality and if the products have received any awards or at least being recognized by the local community for their quality; (v) Letting the farm for leisure time: this is an indicator complex designed to meet the possibilities offered by the farm to be used for non-agricultural uses: agro tourism, hunting, sport activities, open days, which contributed to the maintenance of roads and the preservation of the traditional architectural heritage; (vi) Employment generation: this indicator evaluates the structure and type of manpower (El Aich and Waterhouse, 1999; Reseau d’Agriculture Durable, 2001).
2. Associationism. The Associationism index is used to measure the membership to professional associations related to goat activities (breeders’ association, cooperative), and the degree of involvement in the activities of these associations. The level of this indicator will be higher if the farmer belongs to professional associations, being active within them, or working as a staff (Gonzálvez Pérez, 2001; Vilain, 2008).
3. Farmers implications in local life. This indicator assesses the level of participation of farmer in local social activities, both socially and economically speaking, includes: (i) Participation in social activities that is the active involvement of farmer in any non-professional social organization (sport, cultural or political activities), as a membership or a staff. (ii) Participation in the local economic life: a complex indicator that gets positive appreciation in case the farmer lived in an urban area and made his purchases in local shops, participating actively in their economy (Vilain, 2008).
4. Social welfare. This index assesses welfare, both in working matters and some other aspects linked to daily life. The working welfare is a complex indicator that takes into account: (i) the Perception that the farmer has about his work, (ii) the Perception of his income, (iii) the Possibility to have time for leisure, (iv) the Length of the workday and finally (v) the Reasons why he become a farmer (because inherited the farm, or it is a profitable activity, or because he likes this activity). Other aspects affecting social welfare can be mentioned: (i) the Difficulty of access and the distance to the exploitation (ii) the Cooperation with other farmers (iii) the Satisfaction and access to agricultural and livestock services and finally (iv)the Access to other social services (schools, health centres, roads, etc.) (Reseau d’Agriculture Durable, 2001; Gonzálvez, 2001; Murillo et al., 2004).
5. Continuity of activity. One of the major problems that the goat sector has, especially in less developed areas, is the lack of skilled labour and generational relay. The low quality of life (Castel et al., 2007) and the short appreciation that this activity has for the whole society (Calatrava and Sayadi, 1999) are also a problem. This is a complex indicator composed by: (i) the Continuity of farm in the medium term, by the actual farmer or his family (ii) the Age of the farmer; (iii) the Ownership situation; (iv) the Degree of adaptation to changes in the sector (institutional and technological innovations) and finally (v) Training, a complex indicator including the education level, training courses, etc (Vilain, 2008; Mas de Noguera, 2003).
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