Adaptation de la gestion technique des producteurs de café et de miel face aux variations de prix au Guatemala : concepts et méthodes

International audienceL'incertitude forge le quotidien des agriculteurs des municipalités de Jacaltenango et de San Antonio Huista, à la frontière occidentale du Guatemala. La communication présente le projet de recherche et les résultats intermédiaires d'une thèse de doctorat (2009-2011) portant sur l'adaptation de la gestion technique des producteurs de café et de miel des hautes terres guatémaltèques face aux variations de prix. Les concepts de logique d'action sur le long terme, de gestion technique et de flexibilité sont mobilisés pour l'étude de la trajectoire d'activités et de pratiques agricoles de 48 producteurs membres d'une association de commercialisation de café et miel. La méthodologie se décompose en quatre phases : (1) une phase exploratoire d'enquêtes compréhensives, (2) une phase exhaustive d'enquêtes semi-directives, (3) le traitement des données avec des méthodes statistiques de regroupement, (4) une vérification des corrélations statistiques observées via des monographies des systèmes d'activités. Une première confrontation de ce cadre théorique et méthodologique avec le terrain permet de préciser nos hypothèses autour des relations entre flexibilité et d'une part production biologique et d'autre part catégorie sociale de la main d'œuvre

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security: Concept, Datasets and Opportunities for Computational Social Science Applications

Ensuring food and nutritional security requires effective policy actions that consider the multitude of direct and indirect drivers. The limitations of data and tools to unravel complex impact pathways to nutritional outcomes have constrained efficient policy actions in both developed and developing countries. Novel digital data sources and innovations in computational social science have resulted in new opportunities for understanding complex challenges and deriving policy outcomes. The current chapter discusses the major issues in the agriculture and nutrition data interface and provides a conceptual overview of analytical possibilities for deriving policy insights. The chapter also discusses emerging digital data sources, modelling approaches, machine learning and deep learning techniques that can potentially revolutionize the analysis and interpretation of nutritional outcomes in relation to food production, supply chains, food environment, individual behaviour and external drivers. An integrated data platform for digital diet data and nutritional information is required for realizing the presented possibilities

The importance of the traditional milpa in food security and nutritional self-sufficiency in the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico

Around 30% of global food is produced by smallholder farmers, yet they constitute the most food-insecure group. In Mexico, food self-sufficiency is declining. Rural policies in the country have stimulated the production of cash crops to the detriment of the traditional intercropping system, the milpa. Such a decline may have negative consequences for the food security of subsistence farmers. This study aimed to assess changes in nutritional self-sufficiency over the last 30 years and the role of milpa systems in food security for two communities in the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico. The study used satellite images, censuses, and field data to estimate food production. Three cropping systems, monoculture of maize, monoculture of common bean, and the milpa were compared in terms of nutrients and vitamins produced. Furthermore, a household typology was developed for each community to contrast nutritional self-sufficiency levels between the different household types. Results showed that the milpa produced more volume of food per area compared to the other systems. The milpa also produced all the nutrients and vitamins (except for B12) required to feed at least 2 persons ha-1. Monocultures of maize lacked vitamins A, B9, B12, and C, and the common bean lacked vitamins A, B12, and C. While farmers recognized the importance of the milpa, they preferred monocultures due to the reduced labor demands of this system. Households that obtained most of their income from off-farm activities had the lowest nutritional self-sufficiency. Enhancing nutritional self-sufficiency through crop diversification has the potential to not only improve the nutrition of subsistence farmers, but also to enhance ecosystem service provision, promote biodiversity conservation and restoration, and improve resilience to climate change.</p

España. Caminos. (1951) (1812)

Copia Digital. Real Academia de la Historia : 2010Forma de ingreso: Legado. Fuente de ingreso: Gonzalo Menéndez-Pidal y Goyri (Madrid). Fecha de ingreso: 29 de febrero de 2003Red de caminos de ruedas. Topónimos de ciudades y pueblos por donde pasan los caminosMapa diseñado por Gonzalo Menéndez Pidal según el original de Santiago López para ilustrar su libro "Los caminos en la Historia de España", Madrid, Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, 1951 (plegado al final). El mapa no está firmado, pero en el manuscrito insertó una etiqueta con las siglas de su nombre "GMP" en caracteres ibero-tartésicos para publicar en otro libro sobre la misma materia "España en sus caminos", Madrid, Caja de Madrid, 1992, entre pp. 242-243. Sobre el anágrama véase Manso Porto, Carmen, La cartografía histórica en los libros de don Gonzalo Menéndez Pidal...", pp. 110-112El mapa de Gonzalo Menéndez Pidal se publico en sus libros "Los caminos en la Historia de España" (1951) y en"España en sus caminos" (1990), entre pp. 242-243La fecha de 1951 está tomada del libro "Los caminos en la Historia de España", en donde se publica este mapa plegado al final del textoManuscrito sobre papel grueso en tinta china. Rotulación con plantill

Sustainability Assessment of Two Farming Systems

Objective: Assess the sustainability of two agricultural production systems (native maize and improved maize) by applying the MESMIS methodology Design/methodology/approach: Knowing the social, economic and environmental factors that make up the production systems in the municipality of Jilotepec, State of Mexico, as well as their forms of management, allow us to develop strategies for sustainable rural development. The study contemplated at 30 production systems and compared the level of sustainability between producers of native maize and improved maize. The collection of information in the field was carried out in September 2022 and consisted of participatory workshops, semi-structured interviews and surveys; this information was complemented by soil sampling to analyze fertility Results: The two systems studied have high costs of agricultural production and high dependence on external inputs, especially those using improved maize. Most systems depend on external economic income. Agriculture is increasingly exposed to the conditions of drought and changes in rainfall regimes, in this situation having livestock becomes an important economic support. Changing climate conditions are forcing people to implement adaptability measures. Regionally the soil is fertile and suitable for corn cultivation. The perception of happiness of the inhabitants interviewed is high, they consider that the quality of life is good and therefore do not migrate Findings/conclusions: The present study is the result of the integrated analysis of several methodologies used in the measurement of sustainability indicators

Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico

In this article we present a first attempt to understand the immediate impact of COVID-19 and the sanitary measures taken by governments on farming systems in Central America and Mexico (CAM). Through a review of information generated in these initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic (webinars, blogs, electronic publications, media) and 44 interviews with key informants across the region, we have identified the main impacts felt by different types of farming systems in the region. The results presented focus only in the immediate effect of COVID-19 pandemic and the mechanisms implemented by farmers in the first months. Whether these impacts and response mechanisms will result in a transformation of the farming systems towards greater resilience and sustainability is still an open question

Soil and water conservation on Central American hillsides: if more technologies is the answer, what is the question?

Climate change is likely to lead to increased water scarcity in the coming decades and to changes in patterns of precipitation. The result will be more short-term crop failures and long-term production declines. Improved soil management is key to climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts. There is growing interest in the promotion of climate smart agricultural practices. Many of these are the same practices that were promoted in the 1980s and 1990s under the guise of soil and water conservation. Farmer non-adoption of soil conservation technologies was rife and suggests that different approaches are needed today. Much can be learnt from these past endeavors to ensure that current efforts are better designed and implemented. We use the example of Central America to highlight some of these lessons and suggest alternative ways forward. Technology per se is not the limiting factor; many suitable technologies and practices are extant. What is required is a more nuanced approach to soil conservation efforts. There is a need to focus less on capturing soil once it has been eroded, via the use of cross-slope soil conservation practices, and more on improving soil quality of the soil that remains through improved soil cover. It is also critical to understand farming systems as a whole i.e. the full range of interlinked activities and the multiplicity of goals that farm households pursue. Furthermore, it is important to engage farmers as active players in conservation efforts rather than passive adopters of technologies, and to adopt a board value chain approach and engage a plethora of value chain actors (researchers, extension agents, equipment manufacturers, input suppliers, farmers, traders, and processors) in an agricultural innovation system

Maize Diversity, Market Access, and Poverty Reduction in the Western Highlands of Guatemala

The western highlands of Guatemala lie within the area where maize was first domesticated, and maize remains central to farmers' livelihood security. Over 50% of the population in the region are in poverty, and over 48% suffer from chronic malnutrition. Development efforts have focused on improved land management, crop diversification, and improved access to markets, especially for high-value vegetable crops such as snow peas. As a result of successful initiatives worldwide, more attention is being directed at the extent to which farmers can benefit from market opportunities for indigenous crops by receiving a price premium for providing the environmental service of conserving agricultural biodiversity. Such an approach bridges the gap between poverty alleviation and in situ conservation. We explored this potential development pathway through both qualitative and quantitative research. Focus groups were conducted in 5 communities in the maize-growing highlands of Guatemala, followed by a survey of 989 farm households in 59 locations. Our results show that most farmers in the western highlands of Guatemala are severely maize deficient; on average, farm households produce enough maize for only 6.9 months of consumption a year and are forced to purchase maize to meet basic consumption needs. The results are in sharp contrast to research conducted in highland communities in neighboring Mexico, where many farmers are able to sell their maize in relatively lucrative specialty maize markets. In the context of renewed interest in reducing poverty in Central America, our research suggests that rather than focus on market development for local maize varieties, development efforts should target other types of interventions