Agricultura, Sociedad y Desarrollo

Digital alternative for the supply of agroecological products: proposal for the alternative, cultural and artisanal market; El Cooperativo.

Sonia Solis Pérez — 2026-03-25

In Mexico, venues known as tianguis (open air markets) and alternative markets have emerged, offering agroecological and organic products that are beneficial for both human health and the environment. The “El Cooperativo” Alternative, Cultural, and Artisanal Tianguis located in Texcoco, Mexico represents a prime example of this type of venue. However, despite its significant presence on social media, producers have expressed a desire to expand the dissemination of information related to their businesses and products. Therefore, this project aimed to promote the development of a customized web-based information system that by using technological tools would enable the storage and display of detailed information about producers, products offered and recreational activities. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews, data analysis using coding methods, requirements analysis and web development were employed to create the system. As a result of the research, a trial version of the system was created, centralizing real information about the Tianguis, such as its history, location, and contact information. The sections corresponding to events, producers, and products were simulated, as this was the most complex part of the system due to the data processing involved. Based on the trial version, it was concluded that the system may represent a viable alternative for promoting the Tianguis, although its implementation and continuity will depend on the organization, training, and participation of the producers.

Empowerment of women in rural tourism management in central Mexico.

Irais González Domínguez — 2026-03-25

The objective of this study is to analyze the development of abilities and agency in women through rural tourism, considering the construct of empowerment as theoretical perspective, through a qualitative approach, with tools derived from the ethnographic method. This study seeks to produce knowledge about the experiences of women in rural tourism and their contribution to development in their communities. The results expose transformation processes that women have experienced in each of the dimensions of empowerment, based on their participation in rural tourism projects, where there is evidence that despite these processes being individual, there are important repercussions at the collective level.

Socio-rural metabolisms of mezcal in the Queréndaro region, Michoacán, Mexico.

David Orlando Ramírez-Naranjo — 2026-03-25

The analysis of the society-nature relationship helps us to understand complex socio-ecological systems and the basis for their sustainability. This study analyzes the components and relationships of the mezcal socio-ecosystem in the Queréndaro region, Michoacán, using the methodology of rural social metabolism, through collaborative work with local actors, based on semi-structured interviews and surveys. The results allowed the identification of three categories of metabolisms present in the region, observing that the traditional (C1) and traditional-hybrid (C2) metabolisms show greater self-sufficiency, socio-ecological profitability and connection with conservation; while the semi-industrial system (C3) presents greater economic benefits, although associated with increased negative externalities that affect productive diversification, sustainable resource use, and the preservation of traditional knowledge, cardinal elements that contribute to the sustainability of this socio-ecosystem. As elements for the sustainable management of the mezcal socio-ecosystem, the conclusion is that the conservation and diversification strategies of traditional rural social metabolisms (C1 and C2) are key for a better maintenance and balance between the basic dimensions of sustainability; while a tendency emerges towards the strengthening of specialized and technified metabolisms for mezcal production (C3), which should be regulated to avoid the increase of negative externalities that affect socio-ecosystems which provide natural resources and act in detriment of local biocultural knowledge.

Optimal distribution of pork in Mexico with endogenous prices.

Rolando Leonel González Román — 2026-03-25

We aimed to elaborate a nonlinear programming model to provide strategic and viable alternatives for optimizing the distribution of meat in the Mexican market, applying 2022 data and a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimization approach. The study covered eight production and consumption areas, as well as import entry points. Findings revealed a 1.1% underestimation of national and regional production, equivalent to 16,921 tons, a figure close to that observed during that year, and a 0.4% overestimation of regional consumption, with a Net Social Value of 1,943.6 million pesos. This optimization indicated negative production and positive consumption, with marketing profits exceeding transportation costs, thus enabling the establishment of optimal distribution routes. The fit between the 2022 values and those of the model was 0.02%, confirming the robustness and consistency of the proposed mathematical model. We conclude that the model represents a reliable alternative with potential for application in future planning and evaluation scenarios, related to public policy in pig farming.

Socioeconomic and productive characterization: aspects of generational transition among cocoa producing families in Miahuatlán, Cunduacán, Tabasco.

Evangelina Díaz Méndez — 2026-03-25

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) cultivation, native to the humid neotropical forests of the Americas, is a key productive sector in the state of Tabasco, with significant social, economic and agro-ecological impacts. The Chontalpa region appears to be the main producer. The objective of this study was to portray relevant socioeconomic and productive factors related to generational succession among cocoa-producing families in Miahuatlán, Cunduacán, Tabasco. The research approach was quantitative; to generate data, 20 questionnaires were administered at a census level. Variables such as land size, family size, number of heirs and socio-productive profile were analyzed. Unit size was defined and in the analysis, the age of the owner and the immediate successor were taken into account ANOVA was used in InfoStat version 2020e. In Miahuatlán, cocoa farming is managed 45% by women and 55% by men, with an average age of 56.65 years (±2.59) and 36.75 years of experience (±3.65), indicating an aging agricultural sector with no generational succession. Currently, cocoa remains the primary activity in 30% of the farms. Diversification is evident, in the form of staple crops, forestry, livestock and fruit orchards. The farms produce Criollo and Forastero varieties. The main products marketed include fresh, wet cocoa beans, fermented cocoa, washed dried cocoa, fermented dried cocoa and byproducts such as artisanal chocolate and cocoa powder. Generational succession will not be ensured unless social issues are addressed.

Typification of short marketing circuits for local, healthy and specialty agrifoods in the Sierra Nevada Poblana.

Reyna Concepción Xochipa-Morante — 2026-03-25

In response to the globalized agrifood model, characterized by long distribution chains and industrialized products, short marketing circuits (SMCs) emerge as Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) that offer territorial proximity strategies to strengthen sustainable agrifood systems. In the Sierra Nevada Poblana, the configuration of SMCs through direct sales and reduced intermediation of local, healthy and specialty agrifoods, such as blue corn and berries, becomes relevant. The objective was to analyze the profile of producers, the structure and functioning of these circuits, to propose a typology that recognizes their complexity and impacts. A mixed methodology was used, including Participatory Action Research, community workshops, direct observation and surveys, with 165 producers in Ozolco, Tianguizolco and Buenavista, during 2024. The results show that the SMCs distribute fresh and minimally processed products, of artisanal and semi-industrial elaboration, with a prominent participation of women, young people, indigenous people, returned migrants, and peasant families. Direct channels with minimum intermediation were identified (urban markets, specialty niches, wholesale buyers, and consumers), and alternative schemes on the farm, for home delivery, traditional kitchens, agritourism, digital platforms, and barter. The functioning is supported by strategies of local and regional sales, with differentiated community organization. A typology of SMCs was proposed: urban artisanal, health specialty, and expanding commercial, statistically validated with 98.5% of explained variance and Cronbach Alpha > 0.91. In conclusion, the SMCs strengthen the presence of family agriculture producers in the market, contributing to multiple dimensions of sustainable development, and confirmed as expressions of AFNs which require differentiated policies

Environmental pollution in the Mezquital Valley and its association with cancer; a case study, Mexico.

Joel Rodríguez Zúñiga — 2026-03-25

The inhabitants of the agricultural zone of the Mezquital Valley are environmentally affected by the presence of wastewater and stationary sources of pollution (SSP), which generate greenhouse gases (GHG). It is necessary to identify and implement preventive measures as various chronic degenerative diseases, such as cancer, are caused by these factors. This study intended to analyze the association and perception of wastewater and SSP, as pollutants that cause various types of cancer. In the study region, two communities with differences in terms of their environment and the presence or proximity of wastewater and SSP were compared: San Bartolo Doxey (SBD) and Santa María Macuá (SMM). In these communities, land use and the geographic location of SSP were analyzed. A survey with a structured questionnaire was also designed, validated, and applied, contemplating social and environmental variables and types of cancer occurring among families. In SBD, 83.2% of agricultural land is irrigated with wastewater (SMM has none) and is also located closer to the sources of pollution (approximately 9.3 km) whereas SMM is (approximately 22.0 km). Compared to SMM, SBD has a 72%, 16%, 79%, and 90% higher incidence of cervical, breast, lung, and other cancers, respectively; furthermore, over the last four generations, it has manifested a 63% higher incidence of various types of cancer. There is a certain correlation and perception between wastewater and air pollution, and the incidence of cancer. The most common cancers and those with a known link to pollution are lung and breast cancer.

Social structure in an artisanal cocoa production network: La Chontalpa, Tabasco.

Cristóbal Enrique Córdova Lázaro — 2026-03-25

The transformation of cocoa into a global commodity, with growing commercial value, resulted in a broad field of value extraction and modulation of local and regional agrifood systems, generating specific conditions of territorial planning and integration of local actors, but also creating structural, economic, legal and normative conditions in detriment of the artisanal peasant production of cocoa (Theobroma cocoa L.). However, rural communities are always trying to reformulate these parameters from their own organizational dynamics, rooted in the sociocultural processes that allowed cocoa to become an important food for ancient and current societies. The region of Chontalpa, Tabasco, concentrates more than 68% of the cocoa productive system in the country, and also focalizes an agrifood system and a field of conflict between conventional agroindustry and the artisanal way of cultivating cocoa, mainly because the latter tends to differ from the productivism of the former, but from an agroecological approach and the emergence of local relational structures. With the Social Network Analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of key informants (artisanal cocoa producers), which allowed identifying relationships of input exchange (training, marketing and financing), as well as the degree of influence between cocoa producers. Networked social sub-structures were observed, through which information is handled in topics such as marketing, training, counseling, and financing of cocoa. These processes are characterized by being highly differentiated and hierarchical in access to this information, which generates growing conditions of vulnerability for cocoa producing communities.