Factors determining agricultural diversity and production objectives for agroecosystems in the municipality Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz, México.
Gallardo-López F., Riestra-Díaz D., Aluja-Schunemann A., Martínez-Dávila J. P.
Author Affiliation: Campus Tabasco, Colegio de Postgraduados, Periférico Carlos A. Molina s/n, km 3.5 de la Carretera Cárdenas-Huimanguillo, 86500, H. Cárdenas, Tabasco, Mexico.
Agrociencia (Montecillo) 36 : 495-502
Abstract : The objective of this research was to characterize the agricultural diversity (AD), production objectives, and factors that interact to shape agroecosystems associated with livestock production in Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz, Mexico. Data were obtained from a survey of 43 farmers carried out in that municipality in 1997. The agroecosystems studied were composed of livestock, maize, papaya, sugarcane, mango, and acahual (secondary vegetation succession) production units, whose combination determined the AD. Mean AD was 0.41 for ejidal land (E), and 0.30 for private small farms (PSF). In terms of production objectives, self consumption is higher in E (30%) than in PSF (11.75%). Canonical correlation analysis suggested that agroecosystems with a higher agricultural diversity and subsistence usage are associated to smaller areas of land within ejidal land tenancies with rainfed agriculture (r=0.63). It is concluded that farmers with smaller farm acreages, and with no access to irrigation, design their agroecosystem structure and management in accordance to their available resources and their production purposes.