Agricultural Policy and Climate Change in Mexico

Abstract

As Mexico moves towards more open markets in agricultural trade, land and water, with the reprivatisation of land and the initiation of a North American Free Trade Agreement, the Mexican people are facing an uncertain economic future. Food production in Mexico has always been constrained by low rainfall and been at risk from frequent droughts, and is now threatened by climatic changes associated with global warming and regional land use transformation. Yet 20th century Mexico has experienced great increases in agricultural production associated with government policies to develop irrigation, increase the use of chemical inputs, and subsidise prices paid to farmers. At the same time, rapid population growth, urbanisation and export expansion have increased and restructured overall demand for agricultural products such that imports of basic grains have risen significantly in recent years (Sanderson, 1986; Wellhausen, 1976; Yates, 1981). Although Mexico no longer experiences the famines of previous centuries, and several indicators suggest that food security has been attained at a national level, studies show that as much as one-fifth of the population of 85 million is hungry or malnourished (Calva, 1988; Mexico INEGI, 1991).