Social Sustainability assessment of Small ruminants Farms in the Saharan region of El Oued , Algeria: A Multivariate Analysis

Abstract

This study examines the social sustainability of 77 small-scale farms in Algeria by analyzing descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical clustering based on 18 socio-territorial indicators (B1–B18) and three components: Product and Territory Quality, Employment and Services, Ethics and Human Development, and overall Social Sustainability scale of the IDEA method. Descriptive results revealed heterogeneity across farms, with mean component scores of 13.10 for Quality, 21.81 for Employment and Services, 14.95 for Ethics, and 49.86 points for  overall socioterritorial sustainability. PCA identified two principal components explaining 65.2% of variance, representing "Socio-Economic Engagement" and "Ethical Development." Clustering classified farms into three profiles—high, medium, and low social sustainability—each displaying distinct indicator patterns. Discussion situates these findings within Algerian and global literature, highlighting convergent and divergent trends and implications for targeted policy interventions.