Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Objective: This paper analyzes the characteristics of the agricultural innovation system in the state of Sonora, as a strategy for farmers' competitiveness in the context of NAFTA. First, this research identified the principal actors of the system; then, interactions between them were analyzed, as well as factors that encourage or restrict their relationship. Methodology: Quantitative and qualitative information was collected, analyzed, and related, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Results: The results provide valuable data to understand and bear witness to the competitive dynamics based on innovation in export agriculture in Sonora. Limitations: given that the research is based on a case study, the results obtained do not express the general scenario of Sonoran agriculture. Conclusions: It is concluded that this agricultural innovation system is subordinate and unstructured but competitive. Also, alternatives are proposed to improve this system.

Objective: Starting in the identification of the presence of organic food in Hermosillo, Sonora, consumer attitudes toward the attributes of the organic food are studied and their relation with the willing to pay a higher price to purchase them. Methodology: It´s an investigation of descriptive-correlation type based in a survey applied to a representative sample of 277 consumers (?18 years), all visitors of supermarkets or specialized points of sale that offers organic products. A direct observation was made in the aisles of the establishments of main distribution chains to complement the study. The analysis unit is the consumer of fruit and vegetable food. The independent variables to analyze are organic food attributes and the dependent variable is the willingness to pay. Results: The presence of organic food in the city was confirmed as also a consumer with a high level of knowledge and purchase. In a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 = totally agree), they attributed health benefits (4.68), nutritional proprieties (4.67), and the absence of chemicals (4.57). Likewise, the majority of the surveyed (92.5 %) pointed out interest in buying organic fruit and vegetable food if the price is similar to the price of conventional food and 39.4 % indicated their willing to pay even a little bit more to purchase them. Limitations: The study refers one single location, one specific class of product and a population segment. It is suggested to replicate it at the state level, incorporate products that are more organic and diversify the population profile participants. Conclusions: In Hermosillo, there is a group of consumers interested in purchase products with the attributes that organic food presents. They are willing to pay an over price. This represents an opportunity area to the local grower, certified in organic agriculture, interested in placing is products, more even in the case of fresh organic fruit and vegetables because the offer of such products is scarce in the supermarkets and specialized points of sale of this city.

Objective: We analyzed different sociocultural spaces and communication mechanisms that are used for collective learning among the inhabitants of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, in order to explain the appropriation of knowledge about the use of medicinal and gastronomic plants. Methodology: With a qualitative approach, the study privileged the use of ethnographic techniques with members of the urban agriculture group Sembrando Jovel, citizens of the Santa Lucia neighborhood and different markets of the city. Results: We identified the formal, non-formal and informal spaces that are related to each other with communication mechanisms such as intergenerational coexistence, practice, and experimentation, the exchange of knowledge, classes, courses, workshops, diploma courses and mass media. Limitations: About the domestic sphere, this study was limited to a small number of families (four cases) in the Santa Lucia neighborhood, because it was interesting to know the experiences articulated to the processes of appropriation and not to have a statistical sample. Conclusion: We concluded that as a result of the appropriation processes, the knowledge on the uses of medicinal and gastronomic plants has been re-signified, adopting a critical approaches against the food industries and in favor of personal, social and cultural well-being.

Objective: To study the seasonal presence, consumption and geographical distribution of vegetables commercialized in public markets of Tabasco State. Methodology: Local vegetable sellers were interviewed to record the common name, selling part, plant management degree as well as vegetable consumption form. An inventory was made and scientific names were confirmed at the Herbarium of the Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco. The information was analyzed in Excel. Results: Plant diversity was determined by their availability. There were found 146 species and 61 % of them are cultivated, 14 % are wild and 25 % have an initial degree of management. On the other hand, 56 % of the species are native which means that farmers protect this germplasm. The highest number of species is distributed in four families. From these species, 37 % is consumed as fresh fruit, 31 % is used as vegetable, 24 % as condiment. 7 % is used to prepare regional candies and 1 % as technological auxiliary Limitations: It is needed more time for the research. It is suggested to continue researching during more years in order to detect variations in plant species presence due to actual climate changes. Conclusions: There were found different edible plant species in Tabasco public markets due to their seasonality and depending on their proximity to rivers, high hills or coasts, which represent a good food repertoire, as well as the agricultural and culinary knowledge.

Objective: This article explores and describes the role of social enterprises in fostering sustainable development in indigenous communities. Methodology: Through a qualitative method based on a case study research strategy, two indigenous social enterprises located in Peru and Mexico were analyzed. The main method of data collection was interviews, and secondarily observation and analysis of documents. Results: The local leadership in both organizations seeks to involve and empower the community through different strategies such as decent employment, the creation of new companies, environmental awareness, the building of infrastructure, and new markets for local products. In addition, the worldview of each indigenous group allowed the creation of organizations aligned to the values and culture of the community, enhancing synergies with the main stakeholders. The development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem also allowed the creation of new enterprises that have turned communities into poles of regional development. Finally, social innovation focused on reducing negative environmental impact has legitimized the operations of social enterprises, promoting diversification, and obtaining certifications related to sustainable development. Limitations: The worldview of each indigenous community limits the scope of the results in other cultural contexts. The exploratory phase of the phenomenon invites to be cautious in establishing causal relationships. Conclusions: The lessons derived from these indigenous social enterprises contribute to question tradicional logics in the field of regional development and business administration. This work contributes to the literature by examining the role of social enterprises in the development of indigenous regions. This conversation presents scarce empirical evidence from Latin America, even more from a context with high levels of marginalization and exclusion.

Objective: To evaluate whether participation in two food assistance programs (Oportunidades and Programa de Apoyo Alimentario [PAL, Food Assisstance Program]) was related to improving food insecurity among Mexican households with minors. Methodology: The database of the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2014 was analyzed. The households in which there were minors were selected. Household food insecurity was assessed with the Latin American and Caribbean Scale of Food Security (ELCSA) and through the diet diversity. Results: Poor households were more likely to have less diet diversity and have some degree of food insecurity, as well as receive government assistance. However, among poor households, receiving income from food assistance programs was not related to food insecurity or diet diversity. On the other hand, food insecurity was more frequent among households with single or indigenous household heads. The diet diversity, in rural localities, was lower in households in rural localities, at the same time, when the household head had low education. Limitations: The cross-sectional design of the survey precludes making any causal inference. Conclusions: The experience of food insecurity among Mexican households does not vary according to the participation in food assistance programs, which questions the existence of policies focused against the poverty and raises the need to direct efforts to increase access to formal jobs for the classes at social and economic disadvantage.

Objective: Propose an alternative method to the “lack of access to food indicator” to measure food security in Mexico, taking as a reference the definition of FAO. Methodology: Qualitative and quantitative variables are combined to cover four dimensions (physical access, economic access, stability and quality of food) based on five criteria (marginalization, income, expenditure, quantity perception and variety perception). Results: 2 out of 10 households in Mexico can be classified with food security and 15 % present problems in all or most of the indicators. For the bulk of households, the main problems are that a very high proportion of the expenditure is destined to cover the basic basket and that the diet is considered of low quality because it is not enough, varied and nutritious. Limitations: The indicators do not reflect health problems associated with the level of food safety. Conclusions: Public policies must distinguish levels of food security and prioritize economic and health policies at the national level, without neglecting social policy with programs to combat food poverty, which persists in specific regions of Mexico.

Objective: To assess the visual and gustatory attributes that the consumer considers in his decisions to purchase and consume tortillas. Methodology: Allowed the identification of two synthetic indicators, which facilitated the analysis of the information, obtained through personal interviews with a sample of 294 tortilla consumers, in the city of Puebla, consulted about the attributes considered in their purchase, consumption and preferences for tortillas. Results: The Analysis by Main Components, with Bartlett and KMO test, facilitated the identification of these synthetic indicators to group the attributes of the tortilla, with an explained variance of 70%; one, which is called perception, grouping freshness, color, smell, taste, size, texture; the other as flexibility that expresses the elasticity or strap that the tortilla retains in the reheating, for its later consumption. Limitations: One limitation of the study, and perhaps also its strength, is its realization in the city of Puebla, the urban center of the state, where urban consumers are concentrated, pending an exploration towards the smaller cities. Conclusions: The conclusions confirm the attachment to the consumption of tortillas, the complexity of the preferences of the consumers, indicating freshness (M = 4.56), good taste (M = 4.67), and smell (M = 4.44), as the most important. With a similar importance the capacity of reheating (M = 4.61), and that retains its flexibility (M = 4.56), for a later consumption.

Objective: Design a food route in circuits considering the backyard livestock activity, its natural and cultural resources in DG for its tourist use. Methodology: Tourist diagnosis that consisted in the application of a questionnaire to 250 visitors through a sampling non-probability, 70 interviews with rural inhabitants, an inventory of their patrimonies was made including an acknowledgment of infrastructure, tourist services; and the observational method for aspects of veterinary medicine and animal husbandry (MVZ) was applied in order to know the management of livestock production units. Results: Backyard production is related to local agricultural resources and traditional recipes derived from their cultural and natural heritage, which is a source of consumption for tourists, empowered through the design of a food route with five circuits, where its inhabitants are willing to incorporate tourism into their activities, and as a way to preserve their environment. Limitations: Agreements between all actors postpone actions. Conclusions: Rural tourism, in the face of the collapse of rural productive areas, can become the channel of distribution and commercialization of the various backyard agricultural products and encourage the use of the attractions of the place. Therefore, it is not about abandoning the agricultural or traditional knowledge, nor the nature of its landscapes, its history, quality of air and water because these are the bases for the community to take advantage of and develop rural tourism.

Objective: To determinate the quantity and availability of manure released in backyards in Santa María Nepopualco, Huejotzingo, Puebla; to know the level of appraisal and preference that small-scale-farmers have for the use of organic fertilizers, the effects they have on their crops, knowledge and interest in preparing them, to initiate a local community waste management process. Metodology: A descriptive study was carried out through the application of questionnaires to 87 informants from a total of 604 small-Farmers Domestic Units (FDU), with the information collected, a frequency, percentages, Mulivariate by Main Components (MCA) and Cluster Analysis (AC) was carried out, after adjustment or normalization of the variables. Results: The amount of manure generated within the community is sufficient for the production of organic fertilizers through the processing of small-scale manure, among small-farmers there is favorable appraisal of manures effects and interest in processed organic fertilizers. With the MCA and AC, three groups of FDU small-scale-farmers in the community were identified base on their aprraisal and interest. Limitations: A questionnaire was applied to a sample of FDU informants from the comunity, but selected at random. Conclusions: Due to availability and quantity of manure, appraisal of the effects of manure and interest in organic fertilizers, with the groups identified, as agents of change, the management and elaboration of organic fertilizers at community level in the backyards is feasible, but it must start from the interest, knowledget and local knowledge of the small-scale-farmers.