The most important economic activity in the municipality of Libres Puebla, in terms of harvested area and production value, is the corn production. This activity is characterized by plots of less than two hectares, low application of modern inputs and rain-fed production. Even though these production systems faced adverse technical, political and market conditions in the last two decades, the production of white corn is sustained by small scale campesino farming systems, combining sustainable traditional practices including a multicrop systems, conservation and use of landrace corn seed,family labor, and use of income from non-agricultural activities to finance agriculture. In most cases, production economic costs are higher than economic benefits, but including social benefits, such as food security objectives and campesino preferences; total benefits overcome economic production costs
