Policies for food production and consumption in underdevelopment: The case of Mexico

Abstract

This paper presents a system analysis approach for the investigation of the most effective agricultural and nutrition-intervening programs for improving the nutritional standards of the rural poor in a lesser developed country. The research is framed within a four-stage process. First, by means of observation, stylized patterns of nutritional status, food consumption, autoconsumption, and crop production are inferred. Second, based on previous anthropological case studies and statistical surveys, a theoretical model of the peasant household is specified. Third, the model is validated by comparing its empirical solution with the observed patterns. Fourth, the model is used to illustrate a method for evaluating alternative programs for improving the nutritional intakes of peasants. Programs appraised are credit for agricultural production, policies for affecting corn prices and input prices, and programs for subsidizing purchases of foods. The empirical study is about the peasant economy of Puebla in Mexico. The major foods of the typical diet and crop pattern of this area are corn (an energy food) and beans (a protein food). This diet is representative of other areas in Mexico and Central America.