Institutional support and in situ conservation in Mexico: biases against small-scale maize farmers in post-NAFTA agricultural policy

One of the major adjustments brought on by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a change in the relationship between Mexican agricultural support institutions and the small-scale agricultural sector. Post-NAFTA restructuring programs sought to correct previous inefficiencies in this sector, but they have also had the effect of marginalizing the producers who steward and manage the country’s reserve of maize (Zea mays) genetic diversity. Framed by research suggesting that certain maize varieties in a rain-fed farming region in southern Sonora are in danger of loss due chiefly to long-term drought, this article explores the ramifications of post-NAFTA agricultural policies for in situ maize diversity conservation. Qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews with agricultural support institutions and participant observation with farmers, were used to gather data on dryland farmers’ access to research and extension, as well as possibilities for collective action. In southern Sonora, agricultural support is oriented primarily toward high-tech production, and there are structural barriers to small-scale farmers’ access to research and extension institutions. Further, collective action around agriculture is limited. These circumstances represent significant limitations to farmers’ options for accessing new techniques which might help maintain maize diversity in the context of economic and environmental change

On measuring “small potatoes”: spatio-temporal patterning of agrobiodiversity-as-food presents challenges for dietary recall surveys

A growing body of research seeks to measure the nutritional contributions of agrobiodiversity to the diets of small-scale farming households. While such articles frequently base analysis on nutritional surveys, particularly using 24-h dietary recall methods, there is as-yet little critical analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of 24-h recalls for assessing the nutritional contributions of agrobiodiversity, or for evaluating the biodiversity conservation implications of particular dietary patterns. The current article draws from mixed-methods research conducted in Cochabamba, Bolivia, between 2011 and 2015. Methods included both ethnographic research and a two-season, household-level survey of 414 households, distributed across a rural–urban gradient between urban Cochabamba and the rural municipality of Colomi. The survey included a 24-h “culinary recall,” recording specific ingredients used to prepare foods, including variety-level information for key crops in the region. Results demonstrate that native crops play an important role in household diets, accounting for around a third of calories reported at the household level, and as much as 57% of caloric availability in the most remote agricultural communities. However, a fine-grained examination of the data shows that nearly a third of all calories reported are provided by potatoes and their derivatives; no other native, improved, or Andeanized crop accounted for more than 1.53% of reported calories. Using ethnographic data, the paper considers reasons for the lack of representation of other crops in dietary recall methods, including the difficulties of capturing the consumption of crops that are seasonal, or consumed as specialty foods under specific circumstances. Drawing from these observations, the paper argues that assessing the importance of local consumption as a driver of agrobiodiversity conservation requires methods that are better attuned to cultural and seasonally driven consumption practices

Table_1_On measuring “small potatoes”: spatio-temporal patterning of agrobiodiversity-as-food presents challenges for dietary recall surveys.pdf

A growing body of research seeks to measure the nutritional contributions of agrobiodiversity to the diets of small-scale farming households. While such articles frequently base analysis on nutritional surveys, particularly using 24-h dietary recall methods, there is as-yet little critical analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of 24-h recalls for assessing the nutritional contributions of agrobiodiversity, or for evaluating the biodiversity conservation implications of particular dietary patterns. The current article draws from mixed-methods research conducted in Cochabamba, Bolivia, between 2011 and 2015. Methods included both ethnographic research and a two-season, household-level survey of 414 households, distributed across a rural–urban gradient between urban Cochabamba and the rural municipality of Colomi. The survey included a 24-h “culinary recall,” recording specific ingredients used to prepare foods, including variety-level information for key crops in the region. Results demonstrate that native crops play an important role in household diets, accounting for around a third of calories reported at the household level, and as much as 57% of caloric availability in the most remote agricultural communities. However, a fine-grained examination of the data shows that nearly a third of all calories reported are provided by potatoes and their derivatives; no other native, improved, or Andeanized crop accounted for more than 1.53% of reported calories. Using ethnographic data, the paper considers reasons for the lack of representation of other crops in dietary recall methods, including the difficulties of capturing the consumption of crops that are seasonal, or consumed as specialty foods under specific circumstances. Drawing from these observations, the paper argues that assessing the importance of local consumption as a driver of agrobiodiversity conservation requires methods that are better attuned to cultural and seasonally driven consumption practices.</p

Indigenous Food Systems and Climate Change: Impacts of Climatic Shifts on the Production and Processing of Native and Traditional Crops in the Bolivian Andes

Inhabitants of the high-mountain Andes have already begun to experience changes in the timing, severity, and patterning of annual weather cycles. These changes have important implications for agriculture, for human health, and for the conservation of biodiversity in the region. This paper examines the implications of climate-driven changes for native and traditional crops in the municipality of Colomi, Cochabamba, Bolivia. Data was collected between 2012 and 2014 via mixed-methods, qualitative fieldwork, including participatory workshops with female farmers and food preparers, semi-structured interviews with local agronomists, and participant observation. Drawing from this data, the paper describes a) the observed impacts of changing weather patterns on agricultural production in the municipality of Colomi, Bolivia; and b) the role of local environmental resources and conditions, including clean running water, temperature, and humidity, in the household processing techniques used to conserve and sometimes detoxify native crop and animal species, including potato (Solanum sp.), oca (Oxalis tuberosa), tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis), papalisa (Ullucus tuberosus), and charkay (llama or sheep jerky). Analysis suggests that the effects of climatic changes on agriculture go beyond reductions in yield, also influencing how farmers make choices about the timing of planting, soil management, the use and spatial distribution of particular crop varieties. Further, household processing techniques to preserve and detoxify native foods rely on key environmental and climatic resources, which may be vulnerable to climatic shifts. While these findings are drawn from a single case-study, we suggest that Colomi agriculture characterizes larger patterns in what might be termed, indigenous food systems. Such systems are underrepresented in aggregate models of the impacts of climate change on world agriculture, and may be under different, more direct, and more immediate threat from climate change. As such, the health of the food production and processing environments in such systems merits immediate attention in research and practice

Whose Diversity Counts? The Politics and Paradoxes of Modern Diversity

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