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The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective

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Listed:
  • Francis Denisse McLean-Rodríguez

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

  • Tania Carolina Camacho-Villa

    (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT))

  • Conny J. M. Almekinders

    (Wageningen University)

  • Mario Enrico Pè

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

  • Matteo Dell’Acqua

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

  • Denise E. Costich

    (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT))

Abstract

Understanding the causes of maize landrace loss in farmers’ field is essential to design effective conservation strategies. These strategies are necessary to ensure that genetic resources are available in the future. Previous studies have shown that this loss is caused by multiple factors. In this longitudinal study, we used a collection of 93 maize landrace accessions from Morelos, Mexico, and stored at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Maize Germplasm Bank, to trace back to the original 66 donor families after 50 years and explore the causes for why they abandoned or conserved their seed lots. We used an actor-centered approach, based on interviews and focus group discussions. We adopt a Multi-Level Perspective framework to examine loss as a process, accommodating multiple causes and the interactions among them. We found that the importance of maize landrace cultivation had diminished over the last 50 years in the study area. By 2017, 13 families had conserved a total of 14 seed lots directly descended from the 1967 collection. Focus group participants identified 60 accessions that could still be found in the surrounding municipalities. Our findings showed that multiple interconnected changes in maize cultivation technologies, as well as in maize markets, other crop markets, agricultural and land policies, cultural preferences, urbanization and climate change, have created an unfavorable environment for the conservation of maize landraces. Many of these processes were location- and landrace-specific, and often led to landrace abandonment during the shift from one farmer generation to the next.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:36:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10460-019-09932-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09932-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. 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.
    3. Fabíola Sostmeyer Polita & Lívia Madureira, 2021. "Transition Pathways of Agroecological Innovation in Portugal’s Douro Wine Region. A Multi-Level Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, March.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.

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