IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v39y2011i8p1434-1443.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Planting Hybrids, Keeping Landraces: Agricultural Modernization and Tradition Among Small-Scale Maize Farmers in Chiapas, Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Bellon, Mauricio R.
  • Hellin, Jon

Abstract

Summary This paper examines how agricultural modernization and tradition interact among small-scale commercially-oriented maize farmers by studying shifts in area and number of farmers planting hybrids and landraces. Results show substantial yield increases but reductions in production and area planted, associated with widespread hybrid adoption and landrace abandonment. Agricultural government programs have played an important role fostering commercialization and hybrid adoption. Cultural preferences, and possibly an anti-poverty program coupled with women's empowerment, have fostered landrace retention. Hybrids and landraces have overlapping functions in farmers' livelihoods influenced by interdependent production and consumption decisions, cultural preferences, and imperfect markets even under agricultural modernization.

Suggested Citation

  • Bellon, Mauricio R. & Hellin, Jon, 2011. "Planting Hybrids, Keeping Landraces: Agricultural Modernization and Tradition Among Small-Scale Maize Farmers in Chiapas, Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1434-1443, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:39:y:2011:i:8:p:1434-1443
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X11000039
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bellon, Mauricio R. & Adato, Michelle & Becerril, Javier & Mindek, Dubravka, 2006. "Poor farmers' perceived benefits from different types of maize germplasm: The case of creolization in lowland tropical Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 113-129, January.
    2. Nigel Key & Elisabeth Sadoulet & Alain De Janvry, 2000. "Transactions Costs and Agricultural Household Supply Response," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 245-259.
    3. Arslan, Aslihan & Taylor, J.Edward, 2009. "Farmers' Subjective Valuation of Subsistence Crops: The Case of Traditional Maize in Mexico," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1-4, April.
    4. Taylor, J. Edward & Dyer, George A. & Yunez-Naude, Antonio, 2005. "Disaggregated Rural Economywide Models for Policy Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1671-1688, October.
    5. Naude, Antonio Yunez, 2006. "Liberalizacion y reformas al agro: lecciones de Mexico," Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales, Spanish Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 6(12), pages 1-21.
    6. Van Dusen, M. Eric & Taylor, J. Edward, 2005. "Missing markets and crop diversity: evidence from Mexico," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 513-531, August.
    7. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & de Anda, Gustavo Gordillo, 1995. "NAFTA and Mexico's maize producers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 1349-1362, August.
    8. M. A. Mcpherson & M. R. Redfearn & M. A. Tieslau, 2000. "A Re-Examination of the Linder Hypothesis: A Random-Effects Tobit Approach," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 123-136.
    9. Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Pandolfelli, Lauren, 2010. "Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers: Resources, Constraints, and Interventions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 581-592, April.
    10. Sadoulet, Elisabeth & Janvry, Alain de & Davis, Benjamin, 2001. "Cash Transfer Programs with Income Multipliers: PROCAMPO in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 1043-1056, June.
    11. Steve Boucher & J. Edward Taylor, 2006. "Subsistence Response to Market Shocks," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(2), pages 279-291.
    12. Avalos-Sartorio, Beatriz, 2006. "What can we learn from past price stabilization policies and market reform in Mexico?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 313-327, August.
    13. J. Taylor & Irma Adelman, 2003. "Agricultural Household Models: Genesis, Evolution, and Extensions," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 33-58, January.
    14. Becerril, Javier & Abdulai, Awudu, 2010. "The Impact of Improved Maize Varieties on Poverty in Mexico: A Propensity Score-Matching Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1024-1035, July.
    15. Levy, Santiago & van Wijnbergen, Sweder, 1992. "Maize and the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and the United States," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 6(3), pages 481-502, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Makate, Clifton & Angelsen, Arild & Holden, Stein Terje & Westengen, Ola Tveitereid, 2023. "Evolution of farm-level crop diversification and response to rainfall shocks in smallholder farming: Evidence from Malawi and Tanzania," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    2. Quetzalcóatl Orozco-Ramírez & Marta Astier, 2017. "Socio-economic and environmental changes related to maize richness in Mexico’s central highlands," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 377-391, June.
    3. Wies, Germán & Navarrete-Segueda, Armando & Ceccon, Eliane & Larsen, John & Martinez-Ramos, Miguel, 2022. "What drives management decisions and grain yield variability in Mesoamerican maize cropping systems? Evidence from small-scale farmers in southern Mexico," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    4. Sergio Juárez-Hernández & Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, 2020. "Assessing the potential of alternative farming practices for sustainable energy and water use and GHG mitigation in conventional maize systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 8029-8059, December.
    5. Vanessa Ocampo-Giraldo & Carolina Camacho-Villa & Denise E. Costich & Victor A. Vidal Martínez & Melinda Smale & Nelissa Jamora, 2020. "Dynamic conservation of genetic resources: Rematriation of the maize landrace Jala," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(5), pages 945-958, October.
    6. Yooinn Hong, 2021. "Regionally divergent roles of the South Korean state in adopting improved crop varieties and commercializing agriculture (1960–1980): a case study of areas in Jeju and Jeollanamdo," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(4), pages 1161-1179, December.
    7. Makate, Clifton & Angelsen, Arild & Holden, Stein Terje & Westengen, Ola Tveitereid, 2022. "Crops in crises: Shocks shape smallholders' diversification in rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    8. Dury, S. & Alpha, A. & Bichard, A., 2014. "What risks do agricultural interventions entail for nutrition?," Working Papers MoISA 201403, UMR MoISA : Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (social and nutritional sciences): CIHEAM-IAMM, CIRAD, INRAE, L'Institut Agro, Montpellier SupAgro, IRD - Montpellier, France.
    9. Francis Denisse McLean-Rodríguez & Tania Carolina Camacho-Villa & Conny J. M. Almekinders & Mario Enrico Pè & Matteo Dell’Acqua & Denise E. Costich, 2019. "The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(4), pages 651-668, December.
    10. Marta Astier & Quetzalcóatl Orozco-Ramírez & Robert Walker & Yankuic Galván-Miyoshi & Carlos González-Esquivel & Cynthia S. Simmons, 2020. "Post-NAFTA Changes in Peasant Land Use—The Case of the Pátzcuaro Lake Watershed Region in the Central-West México," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-11, March.
    11. Mauricio R. Bellon & Alicia Mastretta-Yanes & Alejandro Ponce-Mendoza & Daniel Ortiz-Santa María & Oswaldo Oliveros-Galindo & Hugo Perales & Francisca Acevedo & José Sarukhán, 2021. "Beyond subsistence: the aggregate contribution of campesinos to the supply and conservation of native maize across Mexico," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 39-53, February.
    12. Muyombano, Emmanuel & Espling, Margareta, 2020. "Land use consolidation in Rwanda: The experiences of small-scale farmers in Musanze District, Northern Province," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. Genowefa Blundo-Canto & Gisella S. Cruz-Garcia & Elise F. Talsma & Wendy Francesconi & Ricardo Labarta & Jose Sanchez-Choy & Lisset Perez-Marulanda & Paula Paz-Garcia & Marcela Quintero, 2020. "Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(3), pages 637-658, June.
    14. Eakin, Hallie & Appendini, Kirsten & Sweeney, Stuart & Perales, Hugo, 2015. "Correlates of Maize Land and Livelihood Change Among Maize Farming Households in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 78-91.
    15. Anshuman Singh & Ranjay K. Singh & Neeraj Kumar & Suresh Kumar & Parvender Sheoran & Dheeraj Singh & Satyendra Kumar & P. C. Sharma, 2022. "Adapting to Social–Ecological Risks to the Conservation of a Muskmelon Landrace in India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.
    16. Freudenreich, Hanna & Musshoff, Oliver, 2022. "Experience of losses and aversion to uncertainty - experimental evidence from farmers in Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    17. Hallie Eakin & Hugo Perales & Kirsten Appendini & Stuart Sweeney, 2014. "Selling Maize in Mexico: The Persistence of Peasant Farming in an Era of Global Markets," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(1), pages 133-155, January.
    18. Jason Donovan & Pieter Rutsaert & Ciro Domínguez & Meliza Peña, 2022. "Capacities of local maize seed enterprises in Mexico: Implications for seed systems development," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(2), pages 509-529, April.
    19. Freudenreich, H., 2018. "Explaining Mexican Farmers Adoption of Hybrid Maize Seed - The Role of Social Psychology, Risk and Ambiguity Aversion," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277410, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Nyangena, Wilfred & Juma, Ogada Maurice, 2014. "Impact of Improved Farm Technologies on Yields: The Case of Improved Maize Varieties and Inorganic Fertilizer in Kenya," RFF Working Paper Series dp-14-02-efd, Resources for the Future.
    21. Sofía Monroy-Sais & Eduardo García-Frapolli & Alejandro Casas & Francisco Mora & Margaret Skutsch & Peter R. W. Gerritsen, 2022. "Relational values and management of plant resources in two communities in a highly biodiverse area in western Mexico," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1231-1244, December.
    22. Chapoto, Antony & Ragasa, Catherine, 2013. "Moving in the right direction? Maize productivity and fertilizer use and use intensity in Ghana:," IFPRI discussion papers 1314, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    23. Qiangqiang Zhang & Beibei Yan & Xuexi Huo, 2018. "What Are the Effects of Participation in Production Outsourcing? Evidence from Chinese Apple Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, November.
    24. Marianna Fenzi & Paul Rogé & Angel Cruz-Estrada & John Tuxill & Devra Jarvis, 2022. "Community seed network in an era of climate change: dynamics of maize diversity in Yucatán, Mexico," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 339-356, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ott, Ingrid & Papilloud, Christian & Zülsdorf, Torben, 2008. "What drives innovation? Causes of and Consequences for nanotechnologies," Kiel Working Papers 1455, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Arslan, AslIhan, 2011. "Shadow vs. market prices in explaining land allocation: Subsistence maize cultivation in rural Mexico," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 605-613, October.
    3. Taylor, J. Edward & Dyer, George A. & Yunez-Naude, Antonio, 2005. "Disaggregated Rural Economywide Models for Policy Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1671-1688, October.
    4. Dyer, George A. & Taylor, J. Edward, 2011. "The Corn Price Surge: Impacts on Rural Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1878-1887.
    5. Blake, Adam & Gomez-Plana, Antonio Gomez & Latorre Munoz, María C., 2005. "Macroeconomic effects of foreign direct investment in the Spanish economy," Conference papers 331357, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    6. Jonasson, Erik & Filipski, Mateusz & Brooks, Jonathan & Taylor, J. Edward, 2014. "Modeling the welfare impacts of agricultural policies in developing countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 63-82.
    7. Manning, Dale T. & Taylor, J. Edward, 2015. "Agricultural Efficiency and Labor Supply to Common Property Resource Collection: Lessons from Rural Mexico," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 40(3), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Mauricio R. Bellon & Alicia Mastretta-Yanes & Alejandro Ponce-Mendoza & Daniel Ortiz-Santa María & Oswaldo Oliveros-Galindo & Hugo Perales & Francisca Acevedo & José Sarukhán, 2021. "Beyond subsistence: the aggregate contribution of campesinos to the supply and conservation of native maize across Mexico," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 39-53, February.
    9. Filipski, Mateusz & Edward Taylor, J. & Msangi, Siwa, 2011. "Effects of Free Trade on Women and Immigrants: CAFTA and the Rural Dominican Republic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1862-1877.
    10. Mesbah Motamed & Kenneth A. Foster & Wallace E. Tyner, 2008. "Applying cointegration and error correction to measure trade linkages: maize prices in the United States and Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 39(1), pages 29-39, July.
    11. Steve Boucher & J. Edward Taylor, 2006. "Subsistence Response to Market Shocks," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(2), pages 279-291.
    12. Fisher, Monica & Kandiwa, Vongai, 2014. "Can agricultural input subsidies reduce the gender gap in modern maize adoption? Evidence from Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 101-111.
    13. Depetris Chauvin, Nicolas & Porto, Guido G., 2011. "Market Competition in Export Cash Crops and Farm Income," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126159, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Dimitris Christopoulos & Margarita Genius & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2021. "Farm and non-farm labor decisions and household efficiency," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 15-31, August.
    15. Bruno Morando, 2022. "Aggregate productivity and inefficient cropping patterns in Uganda," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 221-237, December.
    16. Huang, Jiaqi & Antonides, Gerrit & Nie, Fengying, 2020. "Is mental accounting of farm produce associated with more consumption of own-produced food?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. J. Edward Taylor, 2012. "A Methodology for Local Economy-Wide Impact Evaluation (LEWIE) of Cash Transfers," Working Papers 99, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    18. Mwangi, Joseph Kanyua & Crewett, Wibke, 2019. "The impact of irrigation on small-scale African indigenous vegetable growers’ market access in peri-urban Kenya," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 295-305.
    19. Dzanku, Fred M., 2015. "Household-specific food price differentials and high-value crop production in rural Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 73-82.
    20. Katerina Sherstyuk & Krit Phankitnirundorn & Michael J. Roberts, 2021. "Randomized double auctions: gains from trade, trader roles, and price discovery," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(4), pages 1325-1364, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:39:y:2011:i:8:p:1434-1443. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.