Socioeconomic and Agricultural Factors Associated with Mixed Cropping Systems in Small Farms of Southwestern Guatemala

Abstract

SUMMARY Many small farming communities in Latin America have modified their traditional cropping systems to incorporate non-traditional export crops (NTEC). The shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture is perceived by development agencies as an opportunity to alleviate poverty in rural areas. However, most small-scale farmers are not familiar with the production problems of NTEC, such as Bemisia tabaci and various geminiviruses transmitted by this whitefly species. In the absence of adequate technical assistance, due to drastic budgetary reductions in national agricultural research programs, farmers have relied on agrochemicals to protect their NTEC. This situation has led to considerable pesticide abuse and rejection of contaminated produce in international markets. This study analyzes some of the factors determining the adoption of NTEC and displacement of traditional food crops in southwestern Guatemala, and suggests possible measures to allow small farming communities to benefit from broad-based cropping systems that include both traditional and non-traditional food and cash crops.