Agricultural policy, climate change and food security in Mexico

Abstract

This paper describes how variations in agricultural policy and climatic conditions have influenced maize production and food security in 20th-century Mexico. We describe the Mexican food system today and how economic policy has influenced food output in efforts to attain food security based on the goal of national self-sufficiency. We examine the impact of climate variability on agricultural production; the ways in which agricultural policy has interacted with climate to change vulnerability to environmental and social change and the implications of global warming for the future of Mexican agriculture. Finally, we discuss the implications of the changing economic environment as Mexico has opened its economy — for example, through the North American Free Trade Agreement. Our goal is to provide a context for thinking about the implications of two types of global change for Mexico — the internationalization of economies and the widespread transformation of the environment.