The challenges of measuring food security and sovereignty in the Yucatán Peninsula

Abstract

In a study of food security and sovereignty (FSS) in 22 indigenous Mayan communities in Yucatán State, Mexico, a participatory action research (PAR) methodology was combined with an analytical framework comprised of 10 FSS indicators to measure food security in the study area and identify strengths and weaknesses of the analytical framework. While some of the FSS indicators were approaching satisfactory, the majority were only partially satisfied, and food self-sufficiency was for the most part unsatisfactory. It was also found that food security indicators are relatively easier to measure, while sovereignty indicators present challenges in terms of defining progress.

Dans le cadre d'une étude sur la sécurité et la souveraineté alimentaires (SSA) menée auprès de 22 communautés autochtones mayas de l’État du Yucatán, au Mexique, une méthodologie de recherche-action participative (RAP) a été conjuguée à un cadre analytique composé de 10 indicateurs de SSA pour mesurer la sécurité alimentaire dans la zone étudiée et identifier les points forts et les points faibles du cadre analytique. Si quelques-uns des indicateurs de SSA n’étaient pas loin d’être satisfaisants, la majorité d'entre eux n’étaient satisfaits qu'en partie, et l'autosuffisance alimentaire était en grande partie insatisfaisante. Il a par ailleurs été constaté que les indicateurs relatifs à la sécurité alimentaire sont relativement plus faciles à mesurer, tandis que les indicateurs de la souveraineté présentent des défis au moment de définir les progrès effectués.

En un estudio sobre la seguridad y la soberanía alimentarias (ssa) realizado en 22 comunidades mayas del estado mexicano de Yucatán, se combinó una metodología de investigación-acción participativa empleando un marco analítico integrado por diez indicadores de ssa. Dicho estudio tuvo como objetivo la medición de la seguridad alimentaria en el área de estudio y la identificación de fortalezas y debilidades en dicho marco de análisis. Si bien algunos indicadores reportaron resultados que se acercaban a ser satisfactorios, el desempeño de la mayoría de los mismos fue solo parcialmente satisfactorio, mientras que la autosuficiencia alimentaria en general resultó insatisfactoria. Asimismo, el estudio demostró que los indicadores de seguridad alimentaria son relativamente más fáciles de medir y que los indicadores de soberanía alimentaria encierran retos a la hora de definir los avances logrados.

Keywords:

• Environment (built and natural) – Food security
• Agriculture
• Civil society – NGOs
• Participation
• Latin America and the Caribbean

Notes on contributors

Hector Calix de Dios is the Coordinator of the Agroecology Programme at the Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo (UIMQRoo); Agronomy engineer from Colegio Superior de Agricultura Tropical (Mexico); Master of Science in Botany from Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agrícolas (México); experience in social development of poor Mayan areas (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social, Mexico).

Heather Putnam received her doctoral degree in 2013 from the Department of Geography at the University of Kansas, and is Associate Director of the Community Agroecology Network (CAN).

Santos Alvarado Dzul is a Social Antropologist and Professor at the Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo (UIMQRoo), Mexico; Master of Science in natural resources and rural development, from El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Mexico); experience in public service in the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas office (México).

Wendy Godek is a doctoral candidate at the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University-Newark, and a research and writing consultant for CAN.

Susanne Kissmann is a professor at the Intercultural Maya University of Quintana Roo (UIMQRoo): she has a Master's degree in Community and Regional Planning, University of New Mexico; she brings a PAR approach to teaching and research, facilitating university and community partnerships for constructing viable options for improving local and regional quality of life.

Jean Luckson Pierre is a professor at UIMQRoo specialising in food security, community development, and interculturality; postgraduate studies in International Relations at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC) and the Latin American Faculty of Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), and Master of Sciences in Natural Resources and Rural Development by El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) Mexico.

Steve Gliessman is Professor Emeritus of Agroecology in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, and President of the Board of the Community Agroecology Network (CAN). He is author of the widely-used textbook Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems.

Notes

1. Reardon and Pérez (2010, 919) explain that Universidad Central de las Villas, MACAP/ANAP, and La Vía Campesina are currently devising a set of indicators of food sovereignty based on conventions and documents by La Vía Campesina to be used to measure food sovereignty in other countries, including but not limited to Cuba, Venezuela, and Brazil, and will be adjusted for national context.

2. Procampo is a government programme that provides assistance to all grain producers, through per hectare payments (see Fox and Haight 2010, 16–17). It also benefits corn producers by assisting them in purchasing chemical fertilisers and herbicides as well as providing economic aid. Oportunidades is a means-tested government programme that benefits individuals and families by providing economic assistance depending on the number of children in the family (see SEDESOL 2013).