Abstract
Drylands (arid and semi-arid regions) are important regions in the world; they have been disregarded and considered poor undeveloped regions due to their ecological limitations. Farmers in these regions tend towards diversification of production systems in order to achieve livelihood security, and this phenomenon has not been extensively studied. The objective of this study was to create a typology of the production systems present in the Mexican north central drylands, using variables related to production, socioeconomics, and social capital. 1044 interviews were conducted in the semi-arid region of north central Mexico. Analysis of the data allowed for the observation of nine types of production systems distributed in three groups: Subsistence, commercial, and off-farm income systems. The differences observed within these systems are due to generational gaps, gender differences, market orientation, and social capital. It can be concluded that the diversification of the dryland production systems allows for an understanding of why generic public policies have failed to mitigate poverty in these regions. The implications of the study refer to the reconfiguration of Mexican policies for the development of the drylands.
Highlights
Poverty is common in the drylands of underdeveloped and developing countries, as a result of ecological, political, and socioeconomic conditions
The objective was to create a typology of production systems present in the Mexican north central drylands, using variables related to production, socioeconomics, and social capital
Despite the relevance of Mexico’s drylands, there are few studies regarding the typology of production systems present there
Summary
Poverty is common in the drylands (arid and semi-arid regions) of underdeveloped and developing countries, as a result of ecological, political, and socioeconomic conditions. Their inhabitants suffer from droughts and erosion, torrential rains of short duration that flood crops and increase the incidence of pests, along with food insecurity and the effects of degradation due to overexploitation of communal resources [1,2]. The farm products tend to be generic, and are sold as raw materials or commodities, without industrial processing [3] In this context, small farmers are unable to benefit from economies of scale, and they have little access to markets and little bargaining power, while their input costs are high, due to a lack of information and access to credit [4]. Production systems are a result of multiple possible combinations of strategies or decisions
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