UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY
PEOPLE, LAND MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (UNU / PLEC)
Final report of the Project
Development of Sustainable Models of Campesino Agrodiversity Management in the Highlands of the State of Mexico and Michoacán.
By:
Octavio Castelán 1 , Carlos Arriaga, Julieta Estrada, Sandra Flores, Benito Albarran & Cristina Chávez.
Participating groups:
1 Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Agropecuarias (CICA)
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Asociación Mexicana para la Transformación Rural y Urbana, A.C. (AMEXTRA)
Grupo Interdisciplinario de Tecnología Rural Apropiada, A.C. (GIRA)
April 2002
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Table of Content
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. SECTION ONE. HISTORY OF WORK IN THE MEXICAN SUBCLUSTER ............. 7
H ISTORY OF PLEC PROJECT WORK IN THE M EXICO SUB CLUSTER ..................................... 7
................................................................................................. 8
HARACTERISATION OF FARMING SYSTEMS
..................................................................... 10
ENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FARMING SYSTEMS
................................................. 12
C APACITY -B ULDING ACTIVITIES UNDER PLEC SUB CLUSTER M EXICO ........................... 14
THER CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES
.......................................................................... 17
ISTORY OF LAND USE AND MANAGEMENT
.................................................................. 21
2.3.2. The solar campesino in Mayorazgo and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa .......................... 29
SECTION THREE: PLEC ACTIVITIES AT THE SITES ................................................ 33
R ESTORATION OF TRADITIONAL MILPA AND ASSOCIATED CROPPING SYSTEMS (CICA,
DOPTION AND ADAPTATION BY FARMERS OF
.................................... 34
3.3.2. Workshops with farmers and demonstration sites organised by GIRA .................. 36
2
SECTION FOUR: QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS. ................................................. 38
......................................................................................... 38
SECTION FIVE: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS ...................................................... 43
SECTION SIX. SUSTAINABILITY OF PLEC-INDUCED ACTIVITIES
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Executive summary
Country: MEXICO
Contact Person:
Dr Carlos Arriaga Jordán
Former Leader of PLEC Mexico
Centro de Investigacion en Ciéncias Agropecuarias
(CICA)
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de México (UAEM)
Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, 5000 Toluca,
Estado de México, Mexico
Tel: 52 72 965 552
Fax: 52 72 965 552/156 489
E-mail: caj@coatepec.uaemex.mx
Local collaborating institutions:
Dr. Octavio Castelan-Ortega
Centro de Investigacion en Ciéncias
Agropecuarias (CICA), Universidad Autonoma del Estado de México (UAEM)
Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro
5000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
Tel: 52 72 965 552
Fax: 52 72 156 489
E-mail: oaco@coatepec.uaemex.mx
Centro de Investigacion en Ciéncias Agropecuarias (CICA)
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de México (UAEM)
Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, 5000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
NGO: Asociación Mexicana para la Transformación Rural y Urbana, A.C. (AMEXTRA)
(Mexican Association for the Rural and Urban Transformation)
NGO: Grupo Interdisciplinario de Tecnología Rural Apropiada, A.C. (GIRA)
(Interdisciplinary Group for Appropriate Rural Technology)
Description of Activities:
PLEC-Mexico has focused on the development of replicable models of campesino (small farmer) management of agrodiversity. Investigation has concentrated in two main regional sites with overall project coordination at CICA. First, in the western part of the State of Mexico, the Mazahua indigenous people have a long cultural tradition in the milpa (maize cultivation) system, where a number of local varieties of maize are grown with associated crops, as an adapted form of the characteristic Mesoamerican traditional farming system. Diverse crops are produced from small areas, increasing the availability and variety of food while at the same time giving better nutrition, enhanced soil fertility and protection of biodiversity. PLEC works here in two communities: San Pablo Tlalchichilpa in the municipality of San Felipe del Progreso, and at San Marcos de la Loma in the municipality of Villa
Victoria. In this second community, the CICA group works with AMEXTRA since 1999. AMEXTRA has extended the activities to the neighbouring mazahua community of Yebucivi. Secondly, PLEC works with its partner, GIRA, in the State of Michoacán, in the highlands of Pátzcuaro in the municipality of
Salvador Escalante. Here the main activity has concentrated on the highest priority issue of local farmers, forage production.
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Activities have all been directed towards the PLEC goals of developing sustainable resource management and farming techniques that can simultaneously improve rural livelihoods and conserve agricultural biodiversity. In common with other PLEC groups, Mexico has a focus on management diversity, and it specialises primarily but not exclusively in issues around maize varietals and home gardens (solares). A feature of the work has been the restoration of traditional milpa systems. Under current economic (e.g. NAFTA and diminishing crop prices) and social (e.g. dominant influence of
Mexico City) pressures, the demonstration site work has focussed on self-reliance through maize and associated crops. Faba beans, peas, ayacote (common squash) and Amaranthus spp. have been established by participating farmers. Detailed monitoring has been undertaken at a number of sites, with the active participation of farmers in assessment of crop mixtures as against maize monoculture. Work has also been conducted on forest biodiversity and pasture/forage production – but these are at a less advanced stage than the milpa investigations.
Record of Achievements:
Two main beneficial outcomes, one direct and one indirect, have resulted from the PLEC work:
Ninety percent of participating farmers in San Pablo have recognised the importance of preserving and enhancing agrodiversity. This has been articulated through workshops and participatory exercises such as ranking, and in continuity of take-up of demonstration site activities through the communities.
Economic benefits have also been calculated, and nutrition is felt by campesinos to have been improved.
PLEC activities have served as a catalyst to other development activities funded by the Mexican
Government and administered by other NGOs. Such activities include fruit trees, soil erosion control, and soil fertility technologies. At their final workshop, farmers stated that, “all these would not have been possible without the work done by the PLEC project.”
Specific achievements include:
a detailed database of farmers’ cultivation practices, including labour requirements, types and amounts of inputs, costs of production, for the milpa system
a detailed inventory of five solares, and documentation of the use of all species
a method developed more accurately to reflect the yield levels of associated crops in the milpa
the rescue of the land race cebada morado, a local type of barley, which is noted for its frost and drought resistance. Eleven farmers planted this in 2001 and more are promised for 2002 after substantial seed-sharing within the community
a database of forest plant species, along with uses
for the first time in many years, farmers in San Pablo have sold surplus crops – a situation that only very rarely occurred with maize monoculture.
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In San Marcos de la Loma, 75 farmers participated in workshops; traditional methods of pest control were documented, demonstration sites for oats-vetch mixtures were established, and vegetable production and diversity was introduced in 2001.
With their NGO partner, GIRA, four farmers converted infertile fallow lands to high quality mixed forage. An additional income of some US$320/ha was recorded from these forages. Neighbouring farmers have been involved and have monitored progress with the view to extending production to their own land.
Dissemination and capacity building has been an important feature of PLEC-Mexico research. The
PLEC work in Mexico has been reported in ten congress and conference papers, given mainly in Mexico, but also in Switzerland and Canada. A peer-reviewed journal article has appeared in Mountain Research and
Development (2001) showing how the PLEC work has involved a partnership between campesinos and scientists. Six students have undertaken BSc-level dissertation work on the PLEC sites, and two others are currently writing their PhDs on agrodiversity topics. Over 100 farmers have participated in the various PLEC sites. Finally, a significant contribution of CICA to dissemination of PLEC’s postulates among the Mexican scientific community, was the Mesoamerican Seminar on Agrodiversity in Campesino Agriculture. It was organised jointly by the CICA and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of UAEM and the seminar took place on
28th - 30th April 1998 at the Faculty of Agricultural Science.
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1. Section One. History of work in the Mexican subcluster
1.1. History of PLEC project work in the Mexico sub cluster
The PLEC project’s work in Mexico was carried out initially by the Centro de Investigación en
Ciencias Agropecuarias (Research Centre in Agricultural Science) known as CICA and latter two NGOs in two Sates of Central Mexico, Michoacán and the State of Mexico, were invited to participate and joined the project. CICA joined the PLEC project in July 1997 and received funding to work on PLEC project’s initiatives in Mexico during 1997 until August 1998. Then second part of the first stage was funded from April 1999 until March 2000, and the second stage was carried out during period comprised between September 2000 and December 2001. The two participating NGOs joined the project in 1999, the Asociación Mexicana para la Transformación Rural y Urbana A.C. known as AMEXTRA and the
Grupo Interdisciplinario de Tecnologia Rural Aprorpiada known as GIRA, participated in the second stage of the project.
CICA and AMEXTRA worked in the Mazahua communities of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa, municipality of San Felipe del Progreso, and San Marcos de la Loma, municipality of Villa Victoria, respectively, both in the State of Mexico. GIRA worked in a community called Casas Blancas, in the
State of Michoacán, but the project coordination for the Mexican group remained at CICA during the whole duration of the project. The research activities in Mexico were mainly funded by the UNU/PLEC project, however the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico provided complementary funds during the three project stages.
The main objective of the project was to develop participatory sustainable models for the conservation and enrichment of local biodiversity, within current agricultural systems, in order to improve life conditions of campesinos, through the rescue of the traditional Mesoamerican milpa (maize plot intercropped with vegetables), which is in line with the UNU/PLEC goal. Objectives changed slightly along the different project stages, from the documentation and characterisation of local resources to the development of demonstration activities via on-farm trials.
Each participating institution established particular objectives to carry out in the different communities in order to achieve the main objective as follows:
1.2.CICA's objectives:
1.2.1. First stage (first part)
Documentation and characterization of local resources, management and knowledge of agrodiversity
In situ improvement and conservation of indigenous varieties of maize by implementing with participating farmers simple techniques for seed selection,
Characterization of home gardens in terms of local and introduced plants.
To establish a data base on agrodiversity inventories, management, knowledge and deterioration trends in two Mazahua hill slope villages in the highlands of the State of Mexico.
To establish participatory on-farm trials aimed at:
Improvement of maize grain yields through selection practices for seed.
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Development and evaluation of homegardens that include indigenous and introduced vegetables.
1.2.2. First stage (second part)
Identify spatial variation in the management of land and crops, in the form of diverse field types (or production spaces).
The use and management of plant species, paying particular attention to variation between different land types, and between different farmers, and with emphasis on intercropping practices and use of the associated vegetation including trees, live fences, the home gardens, and the role of livestock in the economy.
The selection, through observation and experience, of a small number of successful innovative farmers who put their expertise into patterns that combine good production with preservation or enhancement of biological diversity, and of the soil.
Recording and investigating Mazahua classifications and evaluations of soil, biota and microenvironments, at landscape level.
1.2.3. Second stage
To rescue the traditional Mesoamerican milpa cultivation system in the mazahua communities of the highlands of North of the State of Mexico.
To analyse low and high biodiversity solares regarding their use and management.
To study the use and management of forests by campesinos in the community of San Pablo
Tlalchichilpa.
To complete the local biodiversity data base using Access or Excel computer's programmes.
1.3. GIRA's objectives:
To establish demonstration sites on traditional milpa (maize-beans-amarantho) cultivation systems.
To evaluate the adoption and adaptation of the cultivation techniques developed in the
Mesoamerican milpa demonstration sites.
To complete the local biodiversity data base using Access or Excel computer's programmes.
To elaborate leaflets for campesinos about demonstration sites on Mesoamerican milpa in order to provide advice on different ways to preserve and enhance local biodiversity.
1.4. AMEXTRA's objectives
To rescue traditional Mesoamerican milpa
To study solares regarding their use and management by campesinos.
1.5.
Site selection
The project took place in two highland regions of Central Mexico, one is located in the western part of the State of Mexico, home to the Mazahua indigenous people, the second largest indigenous
8
group in the state and also one of the poorest in the country (Figure 1). The second area is in the highlands of the Pátzcuaro area in the State of Michoacán, 420 km NW of Mexico city (Figure 1). The project took place mainly in three villages; two in the Mazahua region, and one in the Pátzcuaro region also the home of the Purepecha indigenous people. It was also observed, along the duration of the project, a growing interest of campesinos from other four villages from the Mazahua region to participate in project activities, so some farmers from these communities were invited for workshops and other demonstration activities.
Figure 1. Geographical location of project the PLEC project sites
PLEC Project sites
Mazahua Region: San Pablo Tlalchichilpa (San Pablo) in the municipality of San Felipe del Progreso,
State of Mexico where CICA has been undertaking work on agrodiversity management since 1996 which has resulted in a very close and successful relationship with the community. The municipality of San
Felipe del Progreso is located in the northern part of the state of Mexico, lies between 19 ° 28´ and 19 °
47´ 07´´ north and 99 ° 52´02´´ and 100 ° 16´ 26´´ west. The climate is temperate sub-humid, the average annual temperature is 10.3 o C and the annual rainfall is more than 800 mm. (H. Ayuntamiento de San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México, 1993).
The CICA team rented a house in San Pablo with a solar of 1.0 ha divided in three plots where several project activities were undertaken with the active participation of campesinos, and which served as the main site for demonstration activities and workshops during the duration of the project. Inhabitants of the neighbouring villages of San Francisco Tlalchichilpa and San Juan Coajomulco attended some of the workshops organized in San Pablo and expressed their interest and enthusiasm in participating in project activities, so they were invited to participated too.
San Marcos de la Loma (San Marcos) in the municipality of Villa Victoria, in the State of Mexico
(also in the Mazahua region) initiated work with AMEXTRA in 1999, and continued to participate very
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actively during the duration of the project. Also the AMEXTRA team expanded the activities to the neighbouring Mazahua village of Yebucivi in the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez.
Michoacán Region: Casas Blancas in the municipality of Salvador Escalante in the state of Michoacán is the village where GIRA has undertaken the project’s work and was the centre of the project activities.
The project activities were expanded in the neighbouring village of Santa Isabel.
1.6. Characterisation of farming systems
Method
First stage: For the first stage of the project a formal survey was carried out together with participatory methods like direct interviews, use of key informants, expert farmers, workshops and field days with farmers. Also some farmers were selected as case studies and monitored along the duration of the project through the use of longitudinal studies. In the second part of the first stage of the project the use of expert farmers and on-farm trials was a key part of the work, because it permitted to evaluate the relationship between the maize produced and the soil type, it also allowed to evaluate the use of solares along the year and document the different plant species that can be found in them. A review of available literature on campesino farming systems and biodiversity preservation and enhancement in Mexico and other developing countries was also carried out. The number of campesino families that took part in this part of the project was 29, with 20 from San Pablo and nine from Mayorazgo, from these families, sixteen tilled a total surface of 34.48 Ha in the two communities, with a mean arable surface of 2.2
Ha/family (2.5 Ha/family in San Pablo and 1.8 Ha/family in Mayorazgo). All farmers were closely monitored during the duration of the whole project.
For the second part of the first stage of the project similar methods were used to continue with the monitoring of the use and management of plant species and the variation between land types and between different farmers with emphasis on intercropping practices and use of the associated vegetation, all in order to complement previous work. The relationship with the families in Mayorazgo was less fluent than in “La Era” of San Pablo. In Mayorazgo, farming families were less disposed to participate in projects, therefore monitoring work was more difficult. During this part of the project twenty five farms (13 in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa and 12 in Mayorazgo) were monitored closely through visits at least once each month in order to have a close following of all the activities undertaken throughout the year. Open and semi-structured interviews were held with members present, as well as participant observation while undertaking agricultural activities. Group discussions and workshops were also held.
Monitored farms in San Pablo were selected such that a range of farms in terms of size and farming practices were represented. In Mayorazgo, where participation has been more difficult to convey, monitored farms were those that have been participating in the study of the campesino solar. A similar approach was used for San Marcos and in Casa Blancas.
During this part of the project the role of livestock in the livelihoods of Mazahua campesino households was also evaluated. The animal component of the Mazahua campesino farming systems on the hill slopes of San Felipe del Progreso is very important in the daily life of campesino families, with dynamic interactions between livestock and crops, as well as representing a major source of savings for the family (Arriaga-Jordán et al., 1997).
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This work also took place in the villages of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa specifically in the sector of “La
Era”, and in Mayorazgo. The first step taken was to elaborate an inventory of animal resources per household. Ninety five households were interviewed in the sector of “La Era” representing 69% of the households that constitute this community. This coverage was feasible given the good relationship that the research team has established with this community. In Mayorazgo, 47 households willing to share information were interviewed, representing 10% of the community. After the initial census, a close monitoring of management, use and changes in inventories was undertaken in 25 participating farms (13 in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa and 12 in Mayorazgo).
Monitoring was undertaken by visiting the participating households every eight weeks, undertaking open interviews with members present. Changes in animal inventories were recorded, as well as any economic transaction in cash or in kind involving animals, ascribing opportunity costs or values to the animals or their products and by-products (like manure) when contributions were in kind.
Second stage: This part of the work was concentrated in the rescue of traditional milpa in all the project sites, in March and April 2001 a workshop was organised, in San Pablo, to provide seeds to campesino farmers wishing to establish demonstration sites on traditional milpa. Campesinos were interested in sowing beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), faba beans (Vicia faba), squash (Cucurbita spp) and green peas
(Pisum sativum) intercropped with their maize parcels. Milpas were established according to campesinos experience and resources availability such as land, labour, fertilizers and other inputs. The intercropping pattern in the different milpas was decided by farmers themselves who usually followed traditional practices. Seeds were provided to 24 campesino farmers, who planted equal number of demonstration sites. However, due to the low number of field staff and the large amount of monitoring work that had to be done, it was only possible to monitor fourteen demonstration sites belonging to thirteen farmers. All the milpa cultivation practices and the use of different inputs was recorded from the moment of planting to the harvest for all the case study plots.
GIRA carried out the agronomic evaluation of crops established in fallow lands. Given the scarcity of forage in the community some crops were promoted for cultivation in fallow lands and also with the aim of improving soil fertility. It was promoted the cultivation of faba beans because of its production of biomass that can be used as forage for cattle, and also as source of food for human consumption. The following campesinos took part in the proposal: Epifanio Martínez and Evaristo Valencia. Green peas
(Pisum sativum) were sown by Epifanio Martínez e Hilario Zepeda. Other forage such as Rye grass was sown by Epifanio Martínez, Hilario Zepeda and José Bello. Indicators for evaluating the crops were yields, their potentiality as forage source, costs of production and a the output of a benefit/cost analysis was considered too.
AMEXTRA carried out several on-farm trial in order to evaluate maize-faba beans intercropping and faba beans monocropping A workshop was organised in order to plan the establishment of traditional milpa demonstration sites. Campesinos were responsible to decide the best sites for the demonstration parcels and they also took the responsibility of monitoring the demonstration sites. During the workshop the importance of the rescue of traditional milpa was stressed by the participants, and most campesino farmers agreed on the need of rescuing this traditional cultivation system. Land race seeds of Faba beans were provided to 75 campesino farmers, however because of the reduced number of field staff it was decided to select 10 fields to function as a demonstration sites, that were closely monitored by the project’s staff throughout the production cycle.
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1.7. General characteristics of the farming systems
The Mazahua campesino village and households are complex mixed farming systems where a number of plant and animal species interact dynamically, which may be identified as land-use stages following the guidelines of Brookfield et al. (1999) as follows (Figure 2 and 3):
Milpa: Usually the maize fields in monoculture or associated with other crops, and nowadays also referred to other cultivated areas. It may be the field from the solar, or other fields separated from the immediate proximity of the house;
Solar: The house buildings, animal pens, the yard and the surrounding field;
Monte (Forest): The forested areas of common property from where diverse products and benefits are obtained (firewood, medicinal and ornamental plants, forest soil and white sand as soil amendments, and wild mushrooms as food);
Llano (Open grassland): Also common land that retains some original vegetation, which is devoted to grazing;
Besanas and “orillas” (Edges): Field edges (besanas), and edges of roads and footpaths. Within these fields, the campesino farm includes a livestock and/or poultry component.
Figure 2. Land-use stages in Mazahua campesino villages.
LIVESTOCK
MILPA
CAMPESINO FARM
AND
VILLAGE
SOLAR
FOREST
GRASSLAND
EDGES
The Mazahua people have a local classification of maize and soils and there is a relationship between soil type and mayze type. To insure against uncertain rainfall and the effect of different soil conditions, farmers have early maturing maize types (pink, yellow and blue maize), and late maturing maizes (white) to be used for better soils and weather conditions. For example, pink maize is sown in sandy, red and clay-sand soils, while late maturing white maize is sown in clay-sand soil which is called
“moisture soil” by the people. Moisture soils allow sowing a high yielding white maize, while a red soil only allows the sowing of a early maturing maize due to their low water holding capacity and their lower
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nutrient status; so that campesinos relate type of maize to type of soils. The knowledge of both elements soil and rainfall determine what maize is going to be cultivated, taking into account how the rains come on that particular year. If the rains are good, all kind of maizes can be sown; but if there is drought, only the early maturing maize types will be cultivated.
Environmental conditions (soil and rainfall) are some of the elements determining maize diversity in the campesino communities of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa and Mayorazgo. However, on top of these biophysical elements that determine what is cultivated, a social factor is also important, in terms of the preferences of the family, which need to be met by sowing at least some land to the preferred maize types (pink or blue), against a will by the male farmers to sow maize with better prices and/or yield (white or yellow). Other social aspects that influence the diversity of maize that is grown on a certain year are: off farm work, family labour, help exchange, payment in kind, campesino experimentation and methods for seed selection.
Criteria in selecting seed is determinant in the diversity on maize. As it was demonstrated during a seed workshop. There is not a singular characteristic that campesinos take into account to select seed.
Giving an example, some campesinos are interested in the size of the cob, others in the size of grain.
The influence of market in the cultivation of different types of maize is also observed since white and yellow maize get better price. In 1997 in San Pablo the participating families sowed 48% of their total farm area (20.05 ha) to white maize, 31% to yellow maize and the rest, 11% for pink maize, 7.0 % for blue and 3.0 % for “pinto” maize. The same tendency was observed in Mayorazgo where out of a total of
16.76 ha, 27% was for white maize, 43.0 % for yellow maize, 21.0% for the pink, 6.0% for blue and 3.0
% for “pinto” maize.
These biophysical and socio-economic are very important factors then determine the diversity of the cropped landscape year by year. However, beyond these conditions that determine what kind of maize is cultivated, it is culture which ultimately influences the biodiversity that is managed. People enjoy living surrounded by such diversity: maize, pumpkins, field beans, weeds, faba beans, flowers, ornamental and medicine plants. “Our ancestors did it and so do we, we like it very much” - they say.
The richness in agrodiversity of these two communities does not end within the maize fields where different types of maize, other crops and weeds are found and used; but also cultural and biodiversity richness is seen in the solar familiar campesino, a place for rejoicement, work, experimentation and a source of goods. As it was reported there are 35 species with different uses: construction, food, condiment, ritual, live fences, beverages, medicine, forage, firewood.
Through the study of the solar, the interest for recovering some species and the regret for losing others emerged. It is the case of chivitos (Calandria micrantha Schl) and turnips (nabo - Brassica
campestris L), edible local plants. They are valued because they are tasty but unfortunately limited due to the use of herbicides. People used to collect them from their milpa but nowadays they are only found in fields located in the mountains and a long walk is necessary to get them. Some campesinos (women) collect seed of nabo to sow them in their solar. This is an example of how and why some species are no more available within milpa and shows the decrease of species used, but also shows the interest of people in recovering them and the interest in having them again as part of the biodiversity of their milpa.
The species of the solar were classified as follows: edible local plants as quelites, crops (maize, pumpkin, beans, faba beans), ornamentals as flowers, those used as forage and those that people do not recknown any use as herbs, medicinal species as medicine, those for fuel as firewood, shrub species, and fruit trees as trees, This is important to understand how and why people manage and use
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their resources as they do and even to talk in the “same language”. One day a campesino was carrying a bunch of different species and the researcher asked: what do you need those plants for? He replied:
“they are not plants, they are “hierbas” (herbs) and they are for my animals”.
Based on the information presented here about maize agrodiversity in the highlands of Central Mexico it can be said that biodiversity “is an object of selection for cultural reasons, taste, gifts, and local identity, and for potential future markets” as Brush (1992) states.
Figure 3. Biodiversity of maize in the highlands of central Mexico
1.7. Capacity-Bulding activities under PLEC sub-cluster Mexico
Table 1 show the number of participants in the PLEC project in Mexico since 1999 and includes all the partners that took part in it, CICA, AMEXTRA and GIRA. It is important to point out that the number of female participants is always higher than the number of male participants. The number of students that did their BSc, MSc and PhD within the project was significantly high for this type of project, particularly for BSc students where eleven were graduate as shown in Table 2. One of these students was awarded with a prize for the quality of her thesis on preservation of biodiversity in the State of
Mexico. Two PhD students are currently undertaking their PhD studies on PLEC related topics at the
East Anglia University under the direction of Professor Michael Stocking. It is believed that the big training component carried out by the PLEC project groups in central Mexico, will be of great utility in the dissemination of initiatives and postulates of PLEC in the rest of the country.
Table 3 shows that 25 workshops, field days and training courses for or with farmers were carried out from 1999 to 2001. Three hundred and ninety-nine persons took part if this activities, it is believed that the large number of participants is a guarantee of a good dissemination of the PLEC postulates, as is demonstrated in the rest of the report. Table 4 shows the name of the different participants of the
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PLEC project and the name of their institution whereas Figure 4 shows the distribution of participants according their activities and the level of training.
Table 1. Number of participants in the PLEC project in Mexico from 1999 to 2001
1999
M
Researches
PhD. Students
MSc students
Undergraduate
Assistant research
Technicians
Leader Farmer
Farmers
(demonstration sites)
Total
Average
11
8.2
M= Male and F= Female
3
8
16
3
F
1
17
4
1
18
8.3
2000
M
1
8
22
1
1
3
1
11
5.6
F
2
17
3
1
20
8.6
2001
M
3
11
9
3
1
13
7.5
4
2
2
3
1
2
F
10
3.3 average
2.0
1.5
1
9.0
2.0
2.8
18.0
6.5
13.8
Table 2. Number of undergraduate, Masters, and PhD students who have finished their theses based on
PLEC activities during 1998-2001
Groups within Clusters Undergraduate Masters
CICA
GIRA
11 1
AMEXTRA
Total: 11 1
PhD
2 (in process)
2
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Table 3. Training courses and workshops held for different groups between 2000-2001
Year 1999 Frequency
Orchard management
Agrodiversity concepts
Analysis of results from project
2000
Pruning of fruit trees
Grasslands establishment
Recovering food recipes for chia and amaranth cooking and black amaranth seeds recovering
Green manures
Preparation techniques
1
1
3 Orchard and milpa management
Crops management
2001
Community organization
1
Community diagnostic of problems and constraints
1
2
Evaluation of PLEC proposals
Solar and milpa management
1
2
1
Evaluation of results, community San Pablo
Field visit to crops evaluation and interchange experience
(AMEXTRA-CICA) Community of San Marcos
Field visit to yields evaluations, community of San Pablo
Evaluation of results, final workshop PLEC project
2
1
1
Total 25
1
1
2
1
1
2
20
12
20
35
40
40
40
30
20
35
Assistants
10
10
15
17
20
12
15
20
399
Table 4. Name of scientists, collaborating scientists, students and other assistants that participated in the
PLEC project
Scientists involved Institution
PhD. Carlos Arriaga-Jordán
PhD. Octavio Castelán-Ortega
MSc. Cristina Chávez-Mejía
MSc. Gabino Nava-Bernal
Collaborating Scientists
MVZ. Omar Villagran
Ing. Isaias Chávez
Eliseo Chávez
Ing. Rafael Duran
MSc. Marta Astier-Calderón
Ing. Esperanza Pérez-Agis
Collaborating Scientists (collateral projects)
MSc. Leon Velázquez-Beltrán
MSc. Gabriel Reyes-Reyes
MVZ. Ana María Pedraza-Fuentes
Field Assistants
Biol. Sandra Flores-Consuelo
Biol. Julieta Estrada-Flores
MVZ. Benito Albarrán Portillo
Florentino Mota García
Epifanio Arciga
CICA
CICA
CICA
CICA
CICA
GIRA
GIRA
CICA
CICA
CICA
CICA-University of East Anglia.UK.
AMEXTRA
AMEXTRA
AMEXTRA
AMEXTRA
GIRA
GIRA
CICA
Figure 4. Number of scientists, collaborating scientists, collaborating farmers, expert farmers, students and other assistants.
16
72
4
5
3
7
27
Scientists involved
Collaborating Scientists
Collaborating Scientists (collateral projects)
Assistant field researchers
Leader farmers
Participans Farmers
1.8. Other capacity building activities
1.8.1. Publications and participation in congresses and other scientific meetings
National Symposium “Hombre Naturaleza, un destino común. Ciencias, disciplinas en
Diálogo”, title of the work presented: Agrodiversidad de una comunidad campesina mazahua
del Estado de México. Gobierno del Estado de México. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de
México. October 1996.
II Simposio Internacional y III Reunión Nacional sobre Agricultura Sostenible, Title of the work presented: La agrodiversidad del maíz como un elemento de la sostenibilidad de la
agricultura campesina. Resúmenes del II Simposio Internacional y III Reunión Nacional sobre
Agricultura Sostenible El Colegio de Posgraduados, Facultad de Ingeniería de la UASLP,
Gobierno del Estado de San Luis Potosí, Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural y la
Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca. December 1996.
Seminario Internacional “Nuevos Paradigmas y Enfoques de la Investigación Rural”, Title of the work presented: Agrodiversidad en la agricultura campesina del Estado de México. Seminar organised by the Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Agropecuarias, May 1997. Universidad
Autónoma del Estado de México.
3er. Coloquio Regional de Investigación. Title of the work presented: Agricultura campesina y agrodiversidad en maíz. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Noviembre 1997. Toluca,
México.
Seminario Internacional sobre Agrodiversidad campesina. Title of the work presented: Uso y manejo de flora silvestre por una comunidad mazahua del municipio de San Felipe del
Progreso. May 1999. Seminar organised by CICA and the Faculty of Geography of the UAEM.
17
Workshop El maíz y su perspectiva a la entrada del año 2000. October 6 1998, paper presented during the celebration of the 25 aniversary of the Faculty of Agriculture. Facultad de
Ciencias Agrícolas of the UAEM.
Seminario Mesoamericano sobre Agrodiversidad en Agricultura Campesina. Estudios sobre la agrodiversidad en la agricultura campesina mazahua en el Estado de México. Workshop organised by the Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas and the Centro de Investigación en Ciencias
Agropecuarias de la UAEM. Abril 1998, Toluca, Mexico.
First International Conference on Evaluation of Mountain Biodiversity. Swiss Academy of
Science and the Institute of Botany of the University of Basel. Agrodiversity in the Highlands of
Central Mexico. Is it being mainatained or ir it being lost? Septiembre 2000. Switzerland.
Participation in the National Congress of Los Actores Sociales frente al Desarrollo Rural
(Social Actors and Rural Development). June 3 to 6, 2001. Zacatecas, Mexico. The talk presented was entitled Gender, Use and Management of solares in two campesino communities.
The impact of restoring the Mesoamerican milpa in Central Mexico. Paper presented in the
International Symposium Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems, held in
Montreal Canada from the 8-10 November 2001.
1.8.2. Publications
M.C. Chávez-Mejía, G. Nava-Bernal, L. Velázquez-Beltrán, Y. Nava-Bernal, J. Mondragón-
Pichardo, H. Carbajal-Esquivel, A.M. Pedraza-Fuentes, B.G. Reyes-Reyes, C. Arriaga-Jordán
(2001). Agricultural Research for Development in the Mexican Highlands: Collaboration between a Research Team and Campesinos. Mountain, Research and Development 21 (2): 113-117.
Chávez M., Ma. C. y Arriaga, J. (1999). Agricultura campesina y diversidad en maíz. Ciencia,
ergo sum. 6 (1). Marzo. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México.
Chávez M., Ma. C. (1997). Elements of biodiversity in home gardens in the highlands of Central
Mexico. PLEC VIEWS AND NEWS No. 11 November 1998. United Nations University.
Canberra. Australia.
1.8.3. Organ ization of workshops and seminars to disseminate PLEC’s views
Seminario Internacional sobre Agrodiversidad Campesina. Seminar organised by CICA and the
Facultad de Geografía of the UAEM. May 1999. Toluca, México.
Seminario Mesoamericano sobre Agrodiversidad en Agricultura Campesina. Seminar organised by the Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas and the Centro de Investigación en Ciencias
Agropecuarias of the UAEM. Abril 1998. Toluca, México.
18
1.8.3. BSc. Thesis carried out within the PLEC project
Diversidad y etnobotánica de la vegetación arvense en la comunidad mazahua de San Pablo
Tlalchichilpa, municipio de San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México. By: Haydeé Carbajal
Esquivel y Juana Mondragón Pichardo, (2001). Facultad de Ciencias (Faculty of Science) of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. México.
Etnobotánica de los huertos familiares de la comunidad mazahua de San Marcos de la Loma,
Villa Victoria. By: Irma Flores Beltrán. Facultad de Ciencias (Faculty of Science) of the
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Currently under final review before viva.
Evolucion de los antroposuelos. Estudio de caso: Barrio La Era, San Pablo Tlalchihcilpa,
Municipio de San Felipe del Progreso. By: Belina Garcia Fajardo and Aurea Karina Ruiz
Labastida, (2001). Facultad de Geografía (Faculty of Geography) of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México.
Etnobotánica de un Bosque de Pino-Encino en La Era, San Pablo Tlalchichilpa. By: Ana María
Sandra Flores-Conzuelo (2002). Facultad de Ciencias (Faculty of Science) of the Universidad
Autónoma del Estado de México. Work under final revision by tutors.
Two researchers of CICA are doing their PhD research within the PLEC project, Cristina Chávez and Gabino Nava both at the East Anglia University.
Section 2. Project sites
2.1. Land management in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa and Mayorazgo
The landscape. The history of land use in these two participating villages reflects the interest of their communities in regards to the use and management of resources through time, with historic information on the area of north-western State of Mexico and the Mazahua people that goes back to pre-Columbian times. Current information here presented from San Pablo Tlalchichilpa and Mayorazgo comes from the early 1930’s to date, obtained by participatory methods before mentioned. Paoletti (1999:7) states that the landscape is understood as “a complex system at a large scale of a region ..., in which different ecosystems, soils, plant and animal species, ecological cycles and human activities are associated one with the other”.
The change in land use due to productive activities as agriculture mean the simplification of the landscape through the management of a few species (Odum, 1984 in Paoletti, 1999:2). However, both in tropical and temperate areas there are production systems as agro forestry and multiple cropping where biodiversity allows both the production of goods as well as the existence of high diversity (Paoletti,
1999). Biodiversity management in traditional systems reflects on the landscape the diverse ways of utilising resources for agricultural production, and at the same time reflects the cultural wealth of the people, an essential element of productive activities. Altieri (1999:20), when referring to the contributions of traditional multicropping systems, mentions estimates that indicate that they provide 15 - 20% of food production on a world scale. In Latin America, campesinos grow 70-90% of their beans associated with maize, potatoes and other crops (Altieri, 1999:20).
19
The village of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa, as related by the elder members of the community, was conformed by a cluster of houses built around the Catholic church. By the 1960’s, given the growth of the population, the settlement of the north part was initiated, which was considered common land of which most had not been assigned to anybody. These were forested areas and open grasslands (llanos) which were utilised for grazing animals.
The settlement process of what is now known as the sector of “La Era” (“era” means threshing ground in Spanish, and it takes its name after the era built by one of the first campesinos to settle in this sector to thresh oats and wheat that were commonly sown at that time) was arbitrary and not planned, where families settled and established the number and size of plots according to the labour capacity of each farming family. Settling consisted in felling the forest, building houses and opening land to cultivation and roads. Table 5 shows land stages in Mayorazgo, and Table 6 shows the major land stages identified by members of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
Table 5. Land stages and their use in Mayorazgo.
Land Stage Meaning Use
Llano
Monte
Open grassland
Forest
Grazing
Extraction and grazing
Hacienda Main building of the former Hacienda (Estate) of Mayorazgo Private property, apple and pear orchards
Río
Pozo
Stream
Water well
Used for bathing and washing clothes
Drinking water
Table 6. Land stages and their use in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
Land Stage
Tabache*
Bombaro*
Teneria
Meaning
Large Plain Land (llano)
Black Dove
Tannery
Use
Grazing, maize and oat cropping
Maize, oat and wheat cropping, and forest
Grazing, maize, oat and wheat cropping
Barranca grande Large Gulley
Ishi*
Bonlloquiñi*
Ranyo*
N’dora*
The Apple
The Opuntia Cactus (Nopal)
The Ranch
The Peach
Ta peji*
Tehi peji*
El Calvario
La Era
Bondabashe*
Dolores
Oat and wheat cropping, and forest
Forest and oat and maize cropping
Opuntia cacti, oat and maize cropping
Maize cropping
Maize cropping
Large Tejocote (Crab apple tree) Maize cropping and forest
Small Tejocote Maize Cropping
Maize and oat cropping, and forest
The Threshing Ground
Plenty of “broom” shrubs
Central part of the sector, and solar
Uncultivated plots and firewood collection
Uncultivated plots and firewood collection
* Mazahua names written phonetically in Spanish
Figure 5 shows the Ranyo, and Bombaro land stages identified by the local people in San
Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
20
Figure 5. Land stages in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa
2
.
1.1. History of land use and management
The history of land use and management was collected thoroughly for San Pablo Tlalchichilpa given the open nature of the inhabitants of “La Era” who established a very close relationship with the research team. Unfortunately, this was not the case in Mayorazgo where farming families were less disposed to participate in projects. The designated names for the land stages identified in San Pablo were given by the previous generation, and although names refer to a particular characteristic of the place, there have been changes over time, albeit original names tend to continue in use.
The village of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa is at present constituted by four sectors, although the project was undertaken only in the sector of La Era, so that the identification of the land stages was done by the people of this sector. There are two large land stages, the monte (forest) and the “ejido” (socially tenured land arising from the land reform after the 1910 - 1917 Mexican revolution). These two land stages are common to the inhabitants of the four sectors of the village.
The monte refers mainly to the forested area and the open grasslands (llanos) in the northern part of the village. This area has been used mainly for extractive purposes and grazing. It provides a number of products, some of which have disappeared as the wild grassland mushrooms (hongos de los llanos), while others, although still available, are severely deteriorated, as the number of trees that provide firewood, and the wild plants and animals. The other large land stage “El Ejido”, is located in what was the cultivated land of the Hacienda which own the area, which was expropriated by the land reform, such that the majority of inhabitants of all sectors got access to plots where nowadays maize cultivation predominates.
21
Both the monte and the ejido are not associated with a strong sense of belonging or property by the inhabitants of La Era since these are common areas for the four sectors of the village. In terms of cropping patterns in the different land stages, the greater diversity has a direct relationship with the time that the plots have been opened to cultivation. The longer the time, more work has been invested by
campesinos to improve the quality of their fields, through the restoration of eroded land, or the incorporation of soil amendments like “white sand” and organic matter (manure and plant residues)
(Chávez-Mejía et al., 1998).
The older plots are those adjacent to the houses since these were the first to be opened to cultivation. They have the largest diversity, which decreases with increasing distance of the fields from the house; although this is not the only determinant factor. The diversity of the further away fields also is in relation to the soil types of each space, since campesinos clearly identify the areas where it is not possible to grow a certain crop. As an example, Mr. Olegario González states that “beans will not grow anywhere in the Ejido”. Similarly, campesinos identify areas suitable for crops, as stated by Masseurs.
Eusebio Ruíz and Teodoro González “in Tabache and Bombaro, faba beans grow well”.
There is evidence of crops that used to be cultivated, like wheat and the “purple” and “strawy” barley which were grown before the settlement of La Era, earlier than 1960. However, by the 1970’s these crops were displaced by maiz, in part due to the promotion by government support programmes which gave soft credits for this crop. Another reason of why these crops were abandoned is that the grain from these barley types was very hard for grinding (it was used for human consumption), so that in time it was substituted by maize in most of the region. The most recently introduced crops in the community are oats and common vetch. Oats were introduced in the 1970’s as the number of draught animals, and therefore the need for forage, increased. It also presented the advantage of allowing to be sown when the rains are late and maize can not be sown. Common vetch was introduced as a proposal by a team of CICA as a forage alternative to be associated with oats in order to improve both the amount and quality of the produced forage, with the collateral benefit of nitrogen fixation in the soil, without altering the traditional cultivation practices followed for oats.
According to the local campesinos, changes in the management of their fields have been minimal, and they are due mostly to the availability of labour for the cultivation practices. Migration by the young members of the community to the cities has resulted in a decrease in the traditional associated and multiple cropping systems which were feasible in some land stages but that require several people at sowing time. Another change has to do with the loss of some local plant species, due mostly to the increased use of herbicides which has caused the disappearance of some useful species.
The presence of crops in a land stage, has a direct relationship with the soil type. The land stages of Tabache, Bombaro, Barranca Grande, Ishi and Bonlloquiñi, have durapan (tepetate) and clay soils in different proportions, as well as stony areas, that do not allow a great diversity of crops. Besides, these soils can only be worked till the rains are well established. The land stages of Teneria, El Calvario, La
Era, Ta peji, Tehi peji, N’dora and Ranyo, have predominantly “polvilla” (silt) soils which are of better quality given the improvements undertaken with the addition of “white sand” and manure, which is facilitated by the fact that they are located near the houses, which allows greater attention to their management. Another aspect determining the use for crops has to do with the steepness of the slopes, which is directly related with soil loss through run off. Soils in Bondabashe and Dolores are predominantly hard durapan tepetates, and therefore, although open due to deforestation, are not used for cropping.
22
2.2. Organisational Diversity
2.2.1. Family structure
Table 7 shows the different activities of the different members of the household, both within their community and as farm labourers or migrant workers into the cities. The type of families found in the two villages were nuclear or extended. Tables 8 and 9 show the type of family, age of members and main occupations of 25 participating families; and Table 10 shows total family members and farm size.
Seventeen families regard themselves as nuclear, five are extended, and three are headed by single women, two because they have lost their husband in Mayorazgo, and one in “La Era” whose husband emigrated to the USA.
The type of family (nuclear or extended) and the age of its members has to do with the availability of labour for agricultural activities. Young members of the family are important sources of labour given that since children are six years of age they help out with the different activities of the household. For example, farms M2 and M3 where the children help with looking after the small sheep flocks. The elderly also help with different activities, mainly looking after the sheep when they are taken out to graze, or looking after the poultry. Farms M1 and M12 are elder women on their own, where one of the main activities is to look after their sheep.
Table 7. Occupations of family members
Family Members Occupation
Children Within household:
Agriculture
Fetching firewood; Looking after animals; Cleaning of the house; Fetching water
Off farm:
Students; Domestic service in cities (girls > 13 years old); Agricultural labourers or construction workers (boys > 13 years old)
Adults Within household:
Agriculture; Fetching firewood; Looking after animals; Fetching water; Domestic chores
Off farm:
Agricultural labourers; Construction workers in cities or other informal occupation in cities (street vendors) (men); Domestic service in cities (women)
Elders Within household:
Looking after sheep and poultry
Monitored households in Mayorazgo, given the smaller land resources, rely more in off farm work or remittances such that only three households depend entirely on agricultural production for their livelihoods. The situation in San Pablo is different, where eight of the thirteen households rely on agricultural production for their livelihoods. This could explain in part the larger interest of the people in
San Pablo Tlalchichilpa to participate in projects related with agricultural production without expecting payment or handouts, as shown throughout this report.
23
Table 8. Family structure of monitored households in Mayorazgo.
Farm Household
M1 Isidora Mateo
M2 Epifanía López
Hernández
M3 Elena Cástulo
M4 Margarita Segundo Nuclear
M5 Margarita López
Family Type Children
6 yr.
Alone (Widow)
Nuclear 2
Nuclear
Nuclear
M6 Trinidad Segundo Extended
M7 Piedad Mateo Extended
M8 Catalina Venegas Extended
2
1
2 1
2
Children
7-12 yr.
1
1
1
Teenagers
13-18 yr.
1
1
2
2
M9 Lucas López Nuclear
M10 Alfonso Segundo Nuclear
M11 Catalina Cruz Nuclear
M12 Valentina Cástulo Alone
(separated)
4
2
3
1
1
2
3
Table 9. Family structure of monitored households in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
1
1
2
Adults
19-59
2
3
2
5
1
2
2
1
1
Elders
60 yr.
Occupation
Agriculture
Agriculture and ownership of a taxi
Agriculture and migration
Agriculture, migration, student
Agriculture and migration
Agriculture, merchant
Agriculture, migration, and domestic worker
Agriculture and migration
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture and migration
Farm Household Family Type
SPT1 Sara González Nuclear
SPT2 Pablo García Nuclear
SPT3 Soledad Cruz Nuclear
SPT4 Catalina Nuclear
Alvarez
SPT5 Ofelia García Nuclear
SPT6 Alberto García Nuclear
1
Children
6 yr.
2
2
1
Children
7-12 yr.
1
3
Teenagers
13-18 yr.
2
2
2
2
2
Adults
19-59
5
Elders
60 yr.
Occupation
Agriculture, migration, construction worker
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1 + (1)
Agriculture
Agriculture and migration
Agriculture and migration
Agriculture and migration
SPT7 Trinidad
SPT8
González
Yolanda
González
Nuclear
Nuclear (husband migrated to the
USA)
Nuclear SPT9 Salomón
González
SPT10 Olegario
González
SPT11 Margarita
Nuclear
Extended
Ramírez
SPT12 Teodoro Extended
González
SPT13 Eusebio Ruíz Nuclear
2
1
1
3
1
1
4
2
2
4
2
2
2
Agriculture, mechanic
Agriculture, and student
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
24
Table 10. Characterisation of farms participating in the monitoring
M 1
M 2
M 3
M 4
M 5
Farm
Isidora Mateo
Epifanía López
Elena Cástulo
Margarita Segundo 4
Margarita López 2
7
5
Number of Family Members Farm Size
Ha
1 1.00
0.25
0.35
1.25
0.25
M 6
M 7
M 8
Trinidad Segundo 4
Piedad Mateo 8
Catalina Venegas 7
M 9 Lucas López 5
M 10 Alfonso Segundo 11
M 11 Catalina Cruz 2
M 12 Valentina Cástulo 1
3.75
2.00
1.75
2.50
2.50
1.60
0.40
SPT 1 Sara González
SPT 2 Pablo García
SPT 3 Soledad Cruz
SPT 4 Catalina Alvarez 6
SPT 5 Ofelia García 3
SPT 6 Alberto García 2
SPT 7 Trinidad González 6
8
2
5
SPT 8 Yolanda González 4
SPT 9 Salomón González 6
SPT 10 Olegario González 2
SPT 11 Margarita Ramírez 9
SPT 12 Teodoro González 4
SPT 13 Eusebio Ruíz 5
1.50
1.50
4.00
1.75
4.92
1.85
2.50
5.30
0.55
7.00
2.25
1.50
0.50
SPT = San Pablo Tlalchichilpa, M = Mayorazgo
2.2.2. Land tenure
The majority of the land in the studied villages (69% of land in monitored farms) is under “Ejido”, which until 1992 was socially tenured land, an achievement of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 - 1917.
Ejidatarios (campesinos with rights to ejido land) could have their ejido land in usufruct since it was held as national property, but could not sell or rent their plots; however they could bequeath the land to one of their children, usually the elder son. This arrangement proposed that the endowment of ejido land would satisfy the needs of a campesino family; varying in size in the different areas of the country both in relation to productive potential, but mostly in relation to population pressure, with smaller endowments in
Central and South Mexico, and larger endowments in Northern Mexico. In the State of Mexico the typical
ejido land endowment was around 5.0 to 6.0 ha/ejidatario.
According to the law, these endowments were to remain undivided. However, it became common practice for ejidatarios to give a part of the land to their sons (not only the elder son) as they got married
(and some also to their daughters in more recent times), and selling plots whenever they needed cash.
This explains the very small size of farms shown in Table 10, in the State of Mexico, average arable land
25
per farming family is 2.46 ha (INEGI, 1994). Buying ejido land has been a way of getting access to land.
Although it has always been practised (although not allowed by the previous agrarian law), the new terms of the agrarian law have made it legal and easier, albeit not more common.
In San Felipe del Progreso, as in other parts of the State where men usually have to emigrate out of their villages into the cities in search of incomes, it has become customary that on of those relatives who remain in the village (father, brothers, father or son in law, etc.) looks after the land in usufruct, so that real farm size is many times larger than what is formally owned.
The other 39% of the land is considered privately owned fields or is within “other” category, which refers to rented or land belonging to somebody else held in usufruct. Some campesinos rent land to increase their area of cultivated land, and in some cases the additional agricultural land can be held in usufruct. As mentioned above, it is usual to find campesinos who farm the fields of relatives or neighbours who have migrated to the city, which enables them to increase their tilled land. The conditions of these leases are varied. In some cases there is some share-cropping arrangement where the farmer gives a portion of the harvest to the owner of the fields, but many times it is for free as long as it is understood that ownership of the land is retained by the deed holder. Land can also be obtained through inheritance, and in the past, any ejido fields that were not cultivated could be taken back by the community and reassigned to other campesinos in need of land.
Only non-tillable land as the monte (forest), and the llanos (common grazing land), are reckoned as common land which is intended to be managed following the rules established by the “communal land deputy” who is in charge of observing state and federal regulations (as those governing the use of forest land), as well as those established by the community by agreement or common law and use.
Land is usually owned by men, and traditionally the ejido endowment was only given to men.
According to the old agrarian law, on the death of the man, the wife became automatically the holder of the ejido usufruct rights. However, in many instances this legal provision was not observed, such that many times widows or other women on their own without elder sons to take their husband’s land endowment, were dispossessed of their land. Table 11 shows the land holdings of the monitored farms in Mayorazgo, and Table 12 shows them for San Pablo Tlalchichilpa. The larger mean land holding in
San Pablo Tlalchichilpa is given by the large farm SPT4 (7.00 ha).
This farm is conformed by 3.0 ha of own ejido or property land, as well as 4.0 ha of “other” land.
Of these, 2.0 ha of ejido land belonged to the brother of Mr. Juan García who died and the widow left the community so that Mr. Juan García usufructs that land, and the other 2.0 ha are rented.
26
M9
M10
M11
M12
M4
M5
M6
M7
M8
Table 11. Land tenure by monitored farms in Mayorazgo.
Village
M1
Farmer
Isidora Mateo
Farm Size (ha)
Total
1.00
Tenure
Ejido Property Other
1.00 0.00 0.00
M2
M3
Epifanía López
Hernández
Elena Cástulo
0.25
0.35
0.25
0.35
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Margarita Segundo
Margarita López
Trinidad Segundo
Piedad Mateo
Catalina Venegas
Lucas López
Alfonso Segundo
Catalina Cruz
Valentina Cástulo
Total
%
Mean
Standard Deviation
2.50
2.50
1.60
0.40
17.60
1.47
1.10
1.25
0.25
3.75
2.00
1.75
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.40
1.65
9%
0.14
0.30
0.25
0.00
1.00
0.00
0.00
2.50
2.50
1.60
0.00
15.95
91%
1.33
0.99
1.00
0.25
2.75
2.00
1.75
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
27
SPT5
SPT6
SPT7
SPT8
SPT9
SPT10
SPT11
SPT12
SPT13
Table 12. Land tenure by monitored farms in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa
Village
SPT1
SPT2
Farmer
Genaro García / Sara
González
Pablo García
Farm Size (ha)
Total
2.50
5.30
Tenure
Ejido Property Other
1.50 1.00 0.00
2.50 2.80 0.00
SPT3 Soledad Cruz 0.55 0.30 0.25 0.00
SPT4 Juan García /Catalina
Alvarez
Ofelia García
Alberto García
Trinidad González
Yolanda González
Salomón González
Olegario González
Margarita Ramírez
Teodoro González
Eusebio Ruíz
Total
%
Mean
Standard Deviation
7.00
1.50
4.00
1.75
4.92
2.25
1.50
0.50
1.50
1.85
35.12
2.70
1.99
2.00
0.75
0.75
1.00
0.64
1.00
0.00
0.00
0.75
0.04
9.98
28%
0.83
0.72
0.75
3.25
0.75
4.28
1.25
1.50
0.00
0.75
1.81
20.64
59%
1.59
1.21
1.00 4.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.5
0.00
0.00
4.50
13%
2.3. Use and management of plant species
The study of the management and use of plant species was undertaken identifying land-use stages following the methodology proposed by Zarin et al. (1999a) and which were described in Table 6.
In terms of “field types” the following areas of management and use of plants were identified:
* Solar: which includes the (home) garden where trees, medicinal, ornamental, ritual and food plants are grown, and the solar milpa in the field adjacent to the family house.
* The spontaneous vegetation from perturbed non agricultural land (different from wild plants found in the natural ecosystem, and called vegetación ruderal in Spanish): Edges of roads, fields (besanas), footpaths and the borders of solares.
* Associated vegetation (weeds) of crops (called vegetación arvense in Spanish)
The plants were identified, and their abundance recorded, of useful garden and associated vegetation. For spontaneous vegetation (ruderal) only those useful species were identified; although
28
their abundance was not recorded since they are mixed with other species in borders and edges, making their recording almost impossible.
2.3.1. The campesino solar
A characteristic of campesino agriculture is the existence of an area with high diversity of animal and vegetable species located next to the family house. This space has been identified with diverse names in Spanish as: “huerto familiar” - homegarden, “patio” - yard, “traspatio” - hind yard, “jardín” - garden and “solar”. In Mexico, the study of homegardens or solares has been done for a bit more than a decade, and these works indicate the importance of the home garden as a source of products for the consumption by the campesino family.
González-Jácome (1985) cited by Herrera (1994) mentioned that there are reports that show a prehispanic origin in Central Mexico for managing homegardens, and a number of terms in Nahua language have been identified which were used to designate different kinds of homegardens.
Homegardens were characterised as a place for intensive work, with irrigation and high productivity, closely related with the development of urban civilisations in Meso-America. These gardens were mainly used for the production of cacao (cocoa). These were modified with the arrival of the Spaniards, who introduced new plant species, agricultural tools, and domestic animals. Herrera (1994) undertook a review of the published work on solares around the world, reporting that most works state that the main function of solares is the production of food for subsistence of the farming family.
Herrera (1994) mentions that despite the evidence of the nutritional and economic benefits for those who have homegardens and for society as a whole, this productive space has traditionally been ignored by research in Mexico, and stresses the potential of solares as the basis for a true alimentary strategy, so that multidisciplinary research is required in different aspects of home gardens, as well as the development of programmes which promote home gardens. It is believe that the work done on
solares by the PLEC project in Mexico has come to fill this gap.
2.3.2. The solar campesino in Mayorazgo and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa
Since previous work (Chávez-Mejía et al., 1998), it was found that the people from these villages do not utilise the words solar or huerto to refer to the land where their house is settled and the adjacent arable field; but recognises each area as their house, garden or huerto (orchard) where fruit trees, food, ornamental, condiment and/or ritual plants are found), patio (yard), and the milpa in the adjacent arable field, as well as the borders of their plot of land. Table 13 shows the components of the solar.This work considers as solar all of the area managed and used by the campesino family corresponding to the house (inguma), and an area for the cultivation of plant species (which may be the agricultural field adjacent to the house (milpa), as well as the borders of the plot (conguare), the orchard, the animal pens
(coral), the patio or yard outside the house (trii), and the area for washing. The location of the solar components in not homogeneous, and the animal pens may be behind or on the side of the house, or the orchard or garden be at the front, the back or the side of the house, Figures 6 and 7 are good examples of solares in San Pablo.
29
Figure 6. A farm house surrounded by its solar in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa
Figure 7. A solar in the backyard of a farm house
Table 13. Components of the solar in Mayorazgo and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
Name in Mazahua Name in English
Juama
Inguma
Crop field
House
Orchard or garden
Coral
Trii
Conguare
Name in Spanish
Milpa
Casa
Huerto o jardín
Animal pens
Yard
Corral
Patio
Washing place Lavadero
Maguey border / live fence Cerca de magueyes
* Mazahua names written phonetically in Spanish
The solares were studied at 23 of the 25 farms being monitored mentioned in Table 10. Table 14 shows the area allocated to the different components of the solar by each family. Solar area is very
30
variable. While the largest has an area of 4,255 m 2 , the smallest has only 90 m 2 including the house. It may also be noted in Table 14 that the milpa is the largest component of the solar, again with very variable areas ranging from 25 till 4,200 m 2 , 0.42 ha.
In regards to the orchard and garden, which are reckoned as one since campesinos call huerto all the area where fruit trees, medicinal, vegetable, ornamental and condiment plants are grown. Table 14 shows them separated for means of clarity, and here, garden refers to the area where vegetables are produced, although the area is within the space where the fruit trees and other plants are found.
2.3.3. Use of plants from the solar
There is a specific naming for the different plant species found in the solar. Ornamental plants are called “flowers”, medicinal plants as “medicine”, those without a particular use as “herbs” (or when used as forage), trees are identified, and food herbaceous plants are named “quelites”. Table 15 shows the names in Mazahua of useful plants.
There were 246 useful plant species identified in all areas studied (solar, weeds and spontaneous vegetation) which were grouped in 10 uses. Most of the useful plants were found in the solar, where the use as medicine and ornamental is most frequent, since people give privileged care (like watering) to the plants of the garden given their special interest. Table 16 shows the use of plants from the solar over the year.
31
Table 14. Area for each component of the monitored solares in Mayorazgo and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa
Component
Monitored Family Solar
Solar total area in m
Milpa
House
Garden
Animal pens
Orchard
Patio (yard)
Washing area and water storage
Family shrine
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Area (m 2 )
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
250 258 1000 250 250 1000 750 90 1000 421 257 4220 500 500 174 101 4255 1000 1000 250 500 183 250
100 150 600 150 200 750 500 - 582 250 147 4200 456 456 150 25 4000 670 750 100 348 100 100
88 60 250 50 25 188 150 12 300 60 60 40 16 16 12 12 64 20 40 60 19 12 88
20 20 20 20 9 25 25 60 10 28 2 60 2 2 4 10 160 50 6
9 6 9 16 4 25 25 2 64 31 14 2 8 2 2 9 4
10 70 40 20
2 12 4 9
15 9 4 2 2 4 5 196
30 20 100 100 10 16 16 15 38 50 28 28 16 16 4 50 25 250 2 76 50 25 30
2 6 5 2 2 5 1 4 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 2 1 2
2
32
Table 15. Names in English, Spanish, and Mazahua of useful plants in Mayorazgo and San Pablo.
English
Trees
Dry branches as fuel
Flowers
Firewood
Opuntia cactus
Agave cactus
Edible herbaceous plants
Forage plants
Spanish Mazahua
Árboles Zaa*
Varas secas como comustible Zañaba*
Flores
Leña
Dana*
Daa*
Nopal
Maguey
Quelites
Flora herbácea como forraje
Botkeñi*
Guaru*
Tzana*
Pinyo*
* Mazahua names written phonetically in Spanish
Table 16. Calendar for the use of plants from the solar.
Plants J F M A M J J A S O N D
Maize
Fruit trees
Squashes
Beans
Faba beans
Oat forage
Wheat
X X X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X
Ornamental plants X X X
Medicinal plants X X X X X X X X X X X X
Condiments X X X X X X X X X X X X
Building materials X X X X X X X X X X X X
Firewood X X X X X X X X X X X X
Forage X X X X
Section three: PLEC activities at the sites
3.1. Development of Sustainable Models of Agrodiversity Management in Demonstration Sites in the Mazahua and Purhépecha Regions.
The main objective in this phase was to continue the development of a number of demonstration activities via on-farm trials in the three villages with the active participation of the local people towards developing sustainable resource management and farming practices that meet UNU/PLEC goals of improving rural livelihoods whilst agrodiversity is conserved and enhanced.
Agrodiversity and other production and management technologies as well as conservation practices among campesinos were also be recorded using participant observation techniques. Case study farmers were selected and follow up during the whole duration of the project in order to record selected household activities and observe and record production and management techniques used in the fields, solares, and forests.
33
The field activities and on farm work was centred on:
3.2. Restoration of traditional milpa and associated cropping systems (CICA, AMEXTRA and
GIRA)
The main emphasis of the final part of the project once the farming systems were characterised and the systems of biodiversity management among farmers were properly studied and documented, was the restoration of the traditional milpa system (ancient system of maize cultivation in central Mexico) in the participating villages, with two main objectives.
Firstly, the traditional milpa and other associated crops are, as preliminary trials have shown, a way to increase the outputs from the limited land resources (particularly restrictive in San Pablo and San
Marcos) of campesino families, an aspect which has particular relevance in the face of diminishing prices (brought about by NAFTA) and increasing costs for the maize crop, the traditional monoculture in the highlands.
Secondly, this practice attempts to restore the traditional crop and other useful plant diversity which was a characteristic of Mesoamerican traditional farming systems (Ortega-Paczka, 1999), providing a number of ecological and agronomic advantages (Gliessman, 1990). Main advantages are increased production of diverse food crops from small areas, increased availability and variety of food and therefore better nutritional status of the household members, improvement of soil fertility, increased cash income through the sale of surplus food and preservation and enhancement of biodiversity.
The work was carried out as on-farm trials so that farmers who have largely abandoned associated crops had the possibility to explore the potential of these cropping patterns under the current economic and social conditions (organizational diversity). Associated milpas of maize/faba/peas,
ayocote, or common bean/squash - Amaranthus were established during the Spring/Summer cropping cycles (2001) by participating farmers in San Pablo, and in San Marcos/Yebuciví. A milpa was also established with the participation of Mr. Juan García in one of the solar plots of the house in San Pablo rented by the CICA team, and close monitoring on biological and socio-economic terms was undertaken in all farms, with the active participation of farmers in their assessment on all issues concerned with associated crops in comparison with maize monoculture.
The evaluation considered a ranking matrix in order to understand the criteria that campesinos take into account to grow, or not to grow, associated crops. Final outputs and the uptake rate of project proposals was evaluate through a series of workshops with participating farmers.
3.3. Adoption and adaptation by farmers of PLEC activities
The main outcome of the project is that more than 90% of participating farmers recognised the importance of preserving and enhancing current biodiversity resources, they also were able to appreciate the economic benefits associated to biodiversity preservation, and were also benefited by a substantial improvement in the variety and richness of their diets, improving their nutritional status therefore. For example, Figure 8 shows a demonstration site planted, using the milpa system, with
Tziwin beans and maize at the community of Casas Blancas in Michoacán. Note that the Tziwin beans, are highly resistant and adapted land race of beans, that was re-introduced in this community through the PLEC project activities.
34
Figure 8. A demonstration site planted with maize and beans at Casas Blancas, Michoacán.
The uptake rate of the project proposals for restoring the traditional milpa was very high and almost one hundred percent of participant farmers continue presently with the milpa cultivation system, and with the use of associated crops in the three communities. Moreover, for the new growing cycle more farmers are going to put in practice the PLEC proposals, not only for the milpa cultivation system, but also for forage production (Figure 8).
Farmers were also benefited from the presence of the PLEC project because it serve indirectly as a catalyst for other development activates funded by the Mexican government and other NGOs.
These activities included the production of fruit trees, the construction of devises to control soil erosion and technologies to increase soil fertility. As farmers mentioned during the last workshop “all these
would not have been possible without the work done by the PLEC project”.
3.3.1. Workshops with farmers, uptake of PLEC proposals and establishment of demonstration sites carried out by CICA
In March and April 2001 two workshops were organised to provide seeds to campesino farmers wishing to establish demonstration sites on traditional milpa (Figure 9).
Seeds were provided to 24 campesino farmers, who planted equal number of demonstration sites.
Due to reduced number of field staff and the large amount of monitoring work that had to be done, only fourteen demonstration sites were monitored throughout 2001 and part of 2002.
In October 2001 a third workshop was carried out between CICA and AMEXTRA in San Marcos de la Loma in order to evaluate with farmers the progress achieved in the establishment of the demonstration sites planted with the milpa system. Evaluation of the PLEC project proposals and exchange of experiences by farmers of San Pablo and San Marcos, the two participating
35
communities, was the central part of the workshop. Four leader farmers from San Pablo and thirty from San Marcos participated in the workshop.
In November 2001 a fourth workshop was carried out in San Pablo in order to evaluate yields obtained from the case study milpas. 12 farmers attended to the workshop and Mr. Alberto García was elected as the best farmers in 2001, since he obtained the highest yields for all the crops planted in his demonstration site.
Due to good results obtained by the 24 participating farmers, the same number of demonstration sites will be planted this year (2002).
A detailed database was constructed on farmers’ cultivation practices that includes labour requirements, type and amount of inputs use and costs of production for different milpa intercropping systems.
A method was develop to estimate yield levels for the different associated crops in the milpa under small holder conditions.
A land race of barley locally called “cebada morada” was rescued and re-introduce into the milpa system in San Pablo. The cebada morada (drought and frost tolerant barley) was planted by eleven farmers in 2001 and it is believed that it will be planted by more farmers this year, since they shared seeds with more farmers.
A detailed data base was constructed on the different plant species that can be found in the forest in San Pablo, the scientific names and common names were documented and the different uses for every plant species was also documented.
Finally, by the first time in several years farmers have surplus crops to sold in local markets, the which represented cash income for the participating households, something rarely seen in maize monoculture.
Studies in high and low biodiversity
Five solares of high and five of low biodiversity were selected as case studies in San Pablo, and all the plant species within them were properly identified by their local and scientific names.
The use of the different plants in the solares was also documented
3.3.2. Workshops with farmers and demonstration sites organised by GIRA
Good quality forages were produced by four farmers in fallow lands (forage production was a priority for farmers) where no crops were produced in the past. Average yields of 4 to 8 t/ha were obtained.
An extra income of USD $320/ha was obtained by farmers who planted improved forages
A land race of bean called Tziwin was re-introduced in Casas Blancas village and is now being produced by farmers
Four leaflets on amaranth technologies and demonstration sites were published and distributed among no-participating farmers.
36
Figure 9. Seed workshop with farmers
3.3.3. Outcomes from AMEXTRA
Two workshops with farmers were organised by AMEXTRA in San Marcos de la Loma in order to define demonstration sites. 75 farmers participated in the workshops and ten were selected as case studies.
Ten demonstration sites were planted with maize+faba beans.
Traditional practices for pest control were documented and a leaflet with this information is being prepared for dissemination in the other participating communities and non-participating farmers.
Ten demonstration sites were planted with oats-vetch in order to produce better quality forage (a priority for farmers).
30 vegetable production demonstration sites in the community of San Marcos de la Loma were established, and 10 sites were monitored along 2001 production cycle. These were established aside the farmers’ houses and the species sown are lettuce, tomato, squash, huazontle
(Chenopodium sp), cauliflower, spinach, amaranth, coriander.
Six solares of high and low biodiversity were selected as case studies in San Marcos de la Loma, and all the plant species within them were properly identified by their local and scientific names.
The largest uptake of PLEC activities was observed in San Marcos where nearly one hundred farmers are currently participating and reproducing PLEC activities
37
Section Four: Quantitative Data Analysis.
4.1. Agrodiversity assessment
4.1.1. Maize diversity
Farmers in San Pablo Tlachichilpa identified eight local varieties of maize, compared to four varieties in San Marcos and four in Casas Blancas. In all cases farmers know some of their main characteristics, such as early/late maturing, resistance to drought, floods or frosts and suitability to different soil conditions.
Diversity of the Solar (homegarden): The Mesoamerican solar consists of an area near or next to the farmers' house. It has been recognised by several authors as a special site of interest due to the high number of species found and utilised. Results of the assessment of solares show a high number of species for different uses at the three sites of the PLEC project.
Ten solares in San Pablo Tlachichilpa were selected for the study. Solares consist of different elements, which were identified as Milpa (where maize is grown along with other crops; Garden, where trees and shrubs are found, and edges, where a lot of useful species for different purposes exist (Table 17).
Table 17. Number of useful species per type of use in the solares of San Pablo Tlachichilpa and
Mayorazgo, México.
Use/Component
Food
Live barrier
Fuel
Condiment
Building
Forage
Medicinal
Ornamental
Ritual
Shade
Utensils
Other
Two or more uses
Garden %
41 27
5
8
2
3
4
23
81
9
4
2
26
Milpa
25
3.2
5.2 1
1.3 1
2.0
2.6 47
15.0 14
53.2 2
6.0
2.6
1.3
17.0 18
%
34.2
2.7
24.6
1.3
1.3
64.0
19.0
NB. Percentages do not add to one hundred since some species have more than one use.
Edges %
9 9.0
23
23
2
9
18
52
17
3
7
1
1
42
17.3
3.0
7.0
1.0
1.0
43
23.5
23.5
2.0
9.0
18.3
53.0
In San Pablo Tlachichilpa, over a hundred species were found, their main uses being food, forage, medicinal and ornamental. The local farmers identified species for their common names (some of them in mazahua). Five of the ten sampled solares were then classified as high biodiversity and the rest as low biodiversity. Results are shown in Table 18.
38
Table 18. Solares of low and high biodiversity (average number of plant species per component) in San
Pablo Tlalchichilpa, San Felipe del Progreso, México.
Type/Component Milpa Garden Edges
High biodiversity
Low biodiversity
36
35
36
13
30
17
Total
102
65
In San Marcos de la Loma, ten solares were sampled and 82 species were found, including cereal and other crops, fruit trees, shrubs, forages, weeds and medicinal plants, as shown in Table 19. Results indicate that the most prevalent species are those which are use for medicinal purposes followed by those uses as food. These findings are in line with those reported by Herrera (1994), who mentions that plant species grown in solares of peasant farmers in most developing countries have a fundamental role in their feeding strategies. Medicinal uses of solar’s plants were regarded also as a very important asset by farmers, who mentioned that keeping medicinal plants is a way of saving money because they have to buy less prescription drugs. A very important commodity where access to public health is limited.
Table 19. Use of species in the solares of San Marcos de la Loma, México
Use
Medicinal
Food
Condiment
Fuel
Ornamental
Ritual
Two or more uses
Forage
TOTAL
No. of Species
12
04
05
12
82
28
20
02
04
Percentage
34.1
24.3
2.4
4.8
14.6
4.8
6.0
14.6
NB. Percentages do not add to one hundred since some species have more than one use.
4.1.2. Forest diversity and management
In the forest area of San Pablo Tlachichilpa, 54 useful species were identified in walks along with participating farmers, the distribution of the different species according to their use is shown in Table 20.
The main uses found were for medicine, firewood, ornamental, and food. Again the number of medicinal plants is higher than the number of those plants used for different purposes, and that is something that was very surprising for the research team because between the solar and the forest fifty four different plant species are used for medicinal purposes.
39
Table 20. Use of species in the forest of San Pablo Tlachichilpa, México
Use
Medicinal
Firewood
Ornamental
Food
Other
Two or more uses
TOTAL
No. of Species
26
7
4
3
6
8
54
In the community of Casas Blancas, in the State of Michoacan, there is a trend towards definition of specific areas for agricultural and forest production ("alfa" diversity). Pine-oak, reforested pine, maize crop and fallow fields can be observed. Natural forest areas have been used for farmers for decades, obtaining mainly firewood, building materials and fencing, plus some commercial exploitation. A high extraction limit was established by the authorities, until about ten to fifteen years ago. Then farmers started to ask for studies on the amount of wood that could be taken out. These studies showed that wood is being extracted above the capacity of the forest, and farmers recognise that every year the extraction volume is decreasing. However, internal conflicts caused the extracting permission to be ceased in 1998, which led to illegal wood extraction. At present new studies have not been made, which are now necessary to obtain official extraction permissions.
Diversity of forest species has not been completely assessed. However, there is a density of about 600 pines per hectare, compared with 180 oaks/ha and 40 of other leafy species/ha. Most common practices are digging fire prevention gaps along the forest (100% of farmers), weeding (25%), pruning (12.5%) and pest control (12.5%). 62.5% of interviewed farmers do not invest money in these activities, since they make them with family labour or exchanged labour. The rest hires temporary labour for two or three weeks.
Expenses for technical assistance average $34.00 pesos/m3, which varies according to the volume extracted. Prices for wood are around $ 344.00 pesos/m3 (approximately $30 USD), and the range of monthly gross income goes from $ 250.00 to $7,500.00, averaging $2,600.00. Since monetary costs represent only 11% of gross income, average net income is estimated at $2,328.00 pesos /month, which means that forest exploitation is by far the highest income-generating activity in the community.
However, overexploitation of local forests is a problem that has a significant impact on the ecosystem as a whole, the most significant evidence of this is the overwhelming erosion of soils.
4.1.3. Discussion
During a workshops on agrodiversity assessment, carried out as part of the PLEC project, most farmers recognised the importance of the numerous plant species present in their solares and in the forest. This is a knowledge that has been passed on from generation to generation, although some farmers mention that young people does not seem very interested in the names, uses and management of the different species. PLEC members perceive the participation of women in species conservation or introduction as crucial. One of the most important advantages of these resources is the possibility of having different food sources along the year, which helps to maintain a certain level of food security.
40
Regarding other uses, such as medicines, fuel wood or building materials, there are worries about the decrease in availability because of overexploitation.
On the other hand, one of the disadvantages perceived in San Pablo in terms of forest management is the fact that the forest is community-owned, which means that nobody is willing to introduce management or conservation practices on its own, since other members of the community could simply take advantage of the work done. PLEC members recommended exploring forms of community participation in forest management.
4.2. Recovery of mesoamerican milpa
An important part of the efforts of the PLEC project was advocated to the re-establishment of traditional crops in association with maize, which had been lost due to the adoption of "Green
Revolution" technological packages. Most farmers appreciated the advantages of these management practices, mainly in terms of food security and self-sufficiency, since associated crops are usually grown for family consumption. As mentioned by farmers “before the PLEC project we only have maize and very few vegetables, now after the PLEC project we can also eat faba beans soup or beans or peas, our diet is more varied and rich” Table 20 shows the comparative yields of both single crops in the Traditional
System (TS) and associated crops in the diversified Traditional System (dTS).
Table 20. Comparative yields of the traditional maize vs. the milpa production systems in Casas Blancas,
Michoacán (tonnes/ha).
Maize (grain)
Maize straw
Beans (grain)
Bean straw
LER Maize/Beans
Amaranthus
Traditional
System (TS)
1999 2000
1.9
4.1
2.7
3.9
-
-
-
0.83*
-
-
-
-
Diversified traditional system (DTS)
1999 2000
1.6
3.2
2.6
4.0
0.13
0.27
1.16
0.33**
0.34
1.2
1.94
-
NA. Not available; LER. Land Equivalent Ratio; *Estimated on a 60 m 2 mogote;
** Estimated on a farmers demonstration site (150 m 2 ).
It can be seen that the milpa system for maize/bean association had positive results in both years of evaluation. Even though maize yields were lower, there was an important amount of beans harvested and some amaranthus, which led to Land Equivalent ratios (LER) higher than one. However, costs were higher mainly due to an increase in labour use and seed costs. The economic analysis presented in
Table 21 shows a higher profitability and benefit/cost ratio in the milpa system, mainly due to attractive prices for beans and amaranthus. It is important to mention that benefits were estimated using market prices, since most products were used for self-consumption.
41
Table 21. Economic analysis of associated crops in Casas Blancas in 2000, pesos/ha
Traditional system Milpa system
Gross income
Production costs
Margins
Benefit/cost
1 Mexican peso = 0.10 US Dollars
4650.0
2319.8
2330.2
1.0
9859.0
2778.8
7080.2
2.5
Winter crops were also established in Casas Blancas in plots with residual moisture, in order to maintain some cover proportion during the dry season and obtaining food and forage. Forage production is a priority for farmers in this community and their need to produce more and better quality forage was stressed by farmers during all the workshops. Results of the introduction of forages are presented in
Table 22, with peas and rye grass having the best results. Participating farmers also recognised the usefulness of winter crops, mainly in terms of forage availability during a critical stage for their animals.
Table 22. Winter crops cover area and yields, Casas Blancas, Michoacán, 2000.
Crop
Faba beans
Peas
Rye grass
Cover area per month (%)
Oct.
2
40
Nov.
6.7
35
11
Dec.
10
35
24
Feb.
9
40
60
Yield (kg Dry Matter/ha)
Nil
4464
7978
An economic analysis was carried out in order to evaluate the profitability of peas and grass.
Since there is no current market for pea forage or grass, prices for these products were estimated using the current price for oats, a commonly grown forage in the region. Results of the analysis are presented in Table 23, rye grass was the crop that produced higher margin and higher benefit cost, according to farmers this may be due the higher productions cost of peas and the higher requirements of labour. They also mentioned that peas are more susceptible to damage by bad weather.
Table 23. Economic analysis of winter crops in Casas Blancas in 2000, Mexican pesos/ha
Gross Income
Production costs
Margins
Benefit/cost
Rye Grass
5320.0
2107.4
3213.60
1.5
Peas
3260.0
2652.4
612.00
0.2
42
Section Five: Qualitative Data Analysis
Participatory workshops were organised with farmers at the three PLEC-sites in order to evaluate the practices suggested by PLEC aimed to the recovery of the Mesoamerican milpa and forage production. There is a general recognition among farmers of the importance of associated crops and their relation with food security. A renewed interest of PLEC-collaborating and non-collaborating farmers on recovering ancient crops or introducing new ones has been observed.
Recovered or introduced species has had variable success. For example, in San Pablo and San
Marcos, faba beans, peas and vetch had good results, whereas beans did not do very well. In contrast, farmers at Casas Blancas had better results with beans and amaranthus, whilst faba beans and vetch performed poorly. There are farmer evaluations leading to assumptions on the most appropriate types of soils for these crops. Crops were also evaluated in terms of crop arrangement. Thus, on more fertile soils it is possible to sow grains and legumes on the same row (although this practice increases labour use), whereas sandy or less fertile soils require grains and legumes to be arranged in separate rows or groups of rows within the same plot.
Generally farmers recognise an improvement of soil conditions with the use of associated grain/legume crops. A reduction in fertiliser requirements (and associated costs) is observed, although there is also a reduction in overall maize yields. They also observed that pesticide applications are not possible in these areas, so that manual weeding increases labour costs. However, farmers acknowledge the importance of growing different crops for self-consumption. In this sense, GIRA´s participants assert that the surfaces that can be sown under associated crops are rather small. An optimum size of 0.25 has per farmer under associated crops has been determined and seems to work well.
It was observed that there is scarcity of local seeds in some cases, as the difficulty to reintroduce purple barley has shown. Following the last workshop, a seed exchange was arranged between San
Pablo and Casa Blancas farmers, for about four hectares of bean, broad beans and maize cultivation. It was not estrange therefore to observe that one of the main priorities for farmers was seed production, it was even more important than crop production at least for the first year, farmers mentioned that producing seeds during the first year is a way to ensure future years production.
Introduction of horticultural gardens in San Marcos de la Loma: Even though different types of horticultural species were introduced by AMEXTRA members as an strategy to obtain good quality vegetabes during the drought season, there are no results at present regarding yields in the selected plots. Variable results were observed amongst different farmers, mainly because some of them did not have previous experience in the management of these species. However, there is a general recognition that acelga, turnip, garlic, radish and spinach are some of the most suitable species, since they germinate relatively quickly and are more frost-resistant. Due to the negative results farmers did not continue vegetables production.
Section six. Sustainability of PLEC-induced activities (intercropping).
Some benefits and disadvantages of intercropping according to the results of on-farm experiments are as follow:
Profitability and cost-benefit ratio increased from 1.0 to 2.5.
43
Costs increased by 17%, mainly because of increased labour.
Higher dependence of external inputs. Since many farms still do not have their own beans or amaranthus seed, they still depend on GIRA or other farmers to obtain it. However, agrochemical use is low compared to conventional maize monoculture systems existing in the region.
Food sufficiency was increase particularly in terms of maize and beans.
On the demonstration sites, the maize-bean association showed an increase of between 16 and
94% in Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) compared with maize in monoculture.
All farmers keep in situ germoplasm of different maize types and other marginal crops, which are passed over generations of farmers.
Forage production was increased substantially, particularly during the dry sesason.
Sustainability assessment map (SAM). The MESMIS framework for sustainability evaluation of campesino systems using indicators (Masera et al, 1999) was applied to the results obtained from intercropping systems. Optimum values were determined for each indicator and then represented in an amoeba-type graphic, also known as Sustainability assessment map (Clayton and Radcliffe, 1996).
As observed in Table 24 and Figure 10, the environmental and socioeconomic indicators improve with diversification. Even though maize grain yields decrease, there is an important yield of beans which eliminated the need for purchasing this food. At present, external input dependence is higher in the diversified system, mainly due to the introduction of beans and amaranthus seed, which is still an external input for some farms. However, benefit/cost relationship is increased due to higher overall yields
(LER) and better prices for beans compared to maize, farmers’ diet is more varied and rich contributing to reduce under nutrition problems. Despite these advantages, the diversified system is practised by
25% of farmers in the community, which is consider high for the size of the PLEC project in Mexico, but it is envisaged that the number will increase over the coming years.
Table 24. Sustainability evaluation of Traditional (TS) and Diversified (dTS) Systems in Casas Blancas,
Michoacán, 2000.
Indicator/system
External input independence
No. of adopting farmers
Cost/benefit
Food sufficiency
Maize grain yield
No. of cultivated species
TS%
58
80
40
50
100
33.3 dTS%
46
20
100
100
84
100
Optimum %
100
100
100
100
100
100
44
Figure 10. Sustainability assessment map (SAM) for the traditional (TS) and the diversified (dTS) systems in Casas Blancas, Michoacán
No. of cultivated species
External input independence
100
75
50
25
0
Maize grain yield
No. of adopting farmers
TS% dTS%
Cost/benefit
Food sufficiency
45
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APPENDICES
47
