Contrasts of family farming: the case of Benito Juarez, La Concordia, Chiapas

Abstract

This paper analyzes the transformation of family farming and the concept of farmer in 15 families from the ejido Benito Juarez, La Concordia, Chiapas. This research begins by referencing the agricultural crisis caused by the adoption of agricultural techniques and models that promote the intensification of production based on the use of agrochemicals, farm machinery, modified seeds and irrigation systems, which result in low agricultural profitability, sale and abandonment of farmland, emergence of vices, transformation of one’s own ideas and knowledge and loss of native seeds. This situation has been exacerbated by government policies and strategies that have favored the individualization of agricultural units, where small producers are left unprotected. This issue has pushed farmers to develop new survival strategies such as temporary employment, emigration and the taking up of farm tasks by young people and women. The transformation from the rural to a new urban model is gradual and unavoidable, so it is necessary to analyze the implications entailed by this phenomenon and understand that family farming is in a period of transition to a phase of intensive agricultural development, making it necessary to reconsider policy bases and instruments with respect to farming and the ways agricultural research is conducted.