Maize diversity, rural development policy, and farmers' practices: lessons from Chiapas, Mexico

摘要

Maize diversity is important to the livelihoods of millions of farmers in Mexico, the crop'scentre of origin; to maize breeders seeking new genetic material; and to producers andconsumers worldwide. Key social processes that determine maize diversity includehistoric and cultural emphases on maize as a primary crop; land-use practicesencompassing heterogeneous agro-ecological conditions; farmers' seed-saving practices;farmer selection of useful traits; and farmer seed exchange and purchasing networks. Weconsider the impacts of recent agricultural and rural development policies on theseprocesses. We focus on La Frailesca, a commercial and semi-subsistence maize-growingregion in southern Mexico. Qualitative data were collected via focus group discussions,semi-structured interviews, and participant observation in four villages at intervals over a2-year period. These techniques were complemented with semi-structured interviewswith local and state policymakers. Observations suggest that policies promoting marketliberalisation, agricultural modernisation, and rural education have contributed tosignificant changes in the social processes which have historically generated maizediversity. Increasing numbers of smallholder maize producers are diversifying intoalternative livelihood options, including temporary or permanent migration, and culturaland economic emphases on maize production are changing. Changes in La Frailescaraise important questions about the fate of maize genetic diversity as the Mexicanagricultural sector is further realigned with the global agricultural economy.