Agroecology and restoration ecology: fertile ground for Mexican peasant territoriality?

ABSTRACT

Agroecological transformation must often take place in degraded landscapes. Thus, ecological restoration and related fields may extend agroecology’s reach. At the same time, agroecological practice may enhance ecological functions, contributing to ecosystem recovery in rural landscapes. The long-term impact of these initiatives will depend upon how they mesh with peasant territoriality; the relationship between land and people in its socioeconomic, political-institutional and symbolic-cultural dimensions. We analyzed agroecological and restoration/recuperation initiatives originating from government and non-governmental organizations with direct government support, and from peasant protagonism. We examined official records of initiatives in both categories, conducted in-depth interviews with public officials, and surveyed 47 small peasants associated with organic and agroecological markets. Government and government-linked NGO initiatives operate according to a neoliberal vision of sustainable-development that privileges generation of financial capital, also they have decreased their support for agroecology, and have little or no engagement with restoration/recuperation in terms of ecological or social complexity. By contrast, we identify a strong tendency in peasant agroecology that incorporates restoration/recuperation to achieve greater ecological and cultural complexity. The synergies that arise between agroecology and ecological recovery contribute to the construction of peasant territoriality, and are particularly evident in initiatives driven by indigenous organizations.

KEYWORDS:

• Ecosystem recovery
• indigenous and peasant territories
• neoliberalism
• Latin American sustainability
• sustainable development

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Jim Smith who translated this manuscript. We also thank the “Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología” (CONACyT) of Mexico for the necessary financial support (scholarship). We are most grateful to the public officials and farmers we interviewed, who donated their time and knowledge to the completion of this study.

Notes

1. Amount of 582 million US dollar. The Exchange rate is approximately 18.9 pesos per US dollar. (Banco de México, January 26, 2019, http://www.banxico.org.mx/portal-mercado-cambiario/).

2. Under agrarian reform begun in 1934, ejidos originate as assignation of state lands to groups of peasants who demanded them. Agrarian communities are another type of social property resulting from the allocation of indigenous settlements (Morett Sánchez and Ruiz 2017).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [347921].