Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico
CONTEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors and human activities around the World. OBJECTIVE: In this article we present a first attempt to understand the immediate impact of COVID-19 and the sanitary measures taken by governments on farming systems in Central America and Mexico (CAM). METHODS: Through a review of information generated in these initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic (webinars, blogs, electronic publications, media) and 44 interviews with key informants across the region, we have identified the main impacts felt by different types of farming systems in the region. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: From corporate agricultural production systems, to small and medium scale entrepreneurs and smallholder subsistence farm households, all types of farming systems were impacted, more or less severely, by the different measures implemented by governments such as reduced mobility, closure of public and private venues and restrictions in borders. Larger corporate farming systems with vertical market integration and high level of control or coordination within the supply chain, and smallholder or subsistence farming systems with important focus on production for self-consumption and little external input use, were both relatively less impacted and showed greater adaptive capacity than the medium and small entrepreneurial farming systems dependent on agriculture as their primary income and with less control over the upstream and downstream parts of their supply chain. All types of farming systems implemented a series of mechanisms to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic including the development of alternative value chains, food and agricultural products delivery systems and the exponential use of digital means to communicate and maintain the viability of the different agricultural systems. Collective action and organization of farmers also proved to be an important coping mechanism that allowed some farmers to acquire inputs and deliver outputs in the context of restricted mobility, price volatility, and general uncertainty. Some features of the CAM region played an important role in mediating the impact of COVID-19 and associated sanitary measures. We identify as particularly relevant the nature of agricultural exports, the current structure of the agricultural sector, the diversified livelihood strategies of rural households, and the importance of mobility for rural livelihoods. SIGNIFICANCE: The results presented focus only in the immediate effect of COVID-19 pandemic and the mechanisms implemented by farmers in the first months. Whether these impacts and response mechanisms will result in a transformation of the farming systems towards greater resilience and sustainability is still an open question.
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article biblioteca |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Elsevier
2021
|
Subjects: | AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, RESILIENCE, FARMING SYSTEMS, PANDEMICS, |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10883/21550 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
id |
dig-cimmyt-10883-21550 |
---|---|
record_format |
koha |
spelling |
dig-cimmyt-10883-215502021-07-05T13:30:02Z Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico Lopez-Ridaura, S. Sanders, A. Barba‐Escoto, L. Wiegel, J. Mayorga-Cortes, M. Gonzalez-Esquivel, C. Lopez-Ramirez, M.A. Escoto-Masis, R.M. Morales-Galindo, E. García-Barcena, T.S. AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE FARMING SYSTEMS PANDEMICS CONTEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors and human activities around the World. OBJECTIVE: In this article we present a first attempt to understand the immediate impact of COVID-19 and the sanitary measures taken by governments on farming systems in Central America and Mexico (CAM). METHODS: Through a review of information generated in these initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic (webinars, blogs, electronic publications, media) and 44 interviews with key informants across the region, we have identified the main impacts felt by different types of farming systems in the region. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: From corporate agricultural production systems, to small and medium scale entrepreneurs and smallholder subsistence farm households, all types of farming systems were impacted, more or less severely, by the different measures implemented by governments such as reduced mobility, closure of public and private venues and restrictions in borders. Larger corporate farming systems with vertical market integration and high level of control or coordination within the supply chain, and smallholder or subsistence farming systems with important focus on production for self-consumption and little external input use, were both relatively less impacted and showed greater adaptive capacity than the medium and small entrepreneurial farming systems dependent on agriculture as their primary income and with less control over the upstream and downstream parts of their supply chain. All types of farming systems implemented a series of mechanisms to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic including the development of alternative value chains, food and agricultural products delivery systems and the exponential use of digital means to communicate and maintain the viability of the different agricultural systems. Collective action and organization of farmers also proved to be an important coping mechanism that allowed some farmers to acquire inputs and deliver outputs in the context of restricted mobility, price volatility, and general uncertainty. Some features of the CAM region played an important role in mediating the impact of COVID-19 and associated sanitary measures. We identify as particularly relevant the nature of agricultural exports, the current structure of the agricultural sector, the diversified livelihood strategies of rural households, and the importance of mobility for rural livelihoods. SIGNIFICANCE: The results presented focus only in the immediate effect of COVID-19 pandemic and the mechanisms implemented by farmers in the first months. Whether these impacts and response mechanisms will result in a transformation of the farming systems towards greater resilience and sustainability is still an open question. 2021-06-17T00:25:11Z 2021-06-17T00:25:11Z 2021 Article Published Version https://hdl.handle.net/10883/21550 10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103178 English https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X21001311?via%3Dihub#s0125 CIMMYT manages Intellectual Assets as International Public Goods. The user is free to download, print, store and share this work. In case you want to translate or create any other derivative work and share or distribute such translation/derivative work, please contact CIMMYT-Knowledge-Center@cgiar.org indicating the work you want to use and the kind of use you intend; CIMMYT will contact you with the suitable license for that purpose Open Access Mexico Guatemala Honduras El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama Barking, Essex (United Kingdom) Elsevier 192 0308-521X Agricultural Systems 103178 |
institution |
CIMMYT |
collection |
DSpace |
country |
México |
countrycode |
MX |
component |
Bibliográfico |
access |
En linea |
databasecode |
dig-cimmyt |
tag |
biblioteca |
region |
America del Norte |
libraryname |
CIMMYT Library |
language |
English |
topic |
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE FARMING SYSTEMS PANDEMICS AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE FARMING SYSTEMS PANDEMICS |
spellingShingle |
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE FARMING SYSTEMS PANDEMICS AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE FARMING SYSTEMS PANDEMICS Lopez-Ridaura, S. Sanders, A. Barba‐Escoto, L. Wiegel, J. Mayorga-Cortes, M. Gonzalez-Esquivel, C. Lopez-Ramirez, M.A. Escoto-Masis, R.M. Morales-Galindo, E. García-Barcena, T.S. Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico |
description |
CONTEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors and human activities around the World. OBJECTIVE: In this article we present a first attempt to understand the immediate impact of COVID-19 and the sanitary measures taken by governments on farming systems in Central America and Mexico (CAM). METHODS: Through a review of information generated in these initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic (webinars, blogs, electronic publications, media) and 44 interviews with key informants across the region, we have identified the main impacts felt by different types of farming systems in the region. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: From corporate agricultural production systems, to small and medium scale entrepreneurs and smallholder subsistence farm households, all types of farming systems were impacted, more or less severely, by the different measures implemented by governments such as reduced mobility, closure of public and private venues and restrictions in borders. Larger corporate farming systems with vertical market integration and high level of control or coordination within the supply chain, and smallholder or subsistence farming systems with important focus on production for self-consumption and little external input use, were both relatively less impacted and showed greater adaptive capacity than the medium and small entrepreneurial farming systems dependent on agriculture as their primary income and with less control over the upstream and downstream parts of their supply chain. All types of farming systems implemented a series of mechanisms to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic including the development of alternative value chains, food and agricultural products delivery systems and the exponential use of digital means to communicate and maintain the viability of the different agricultural systems. Collective action and organization of farmers also proved to be an important coping mechanism that allowed some farmers to acquire inputs and deliver outputs in the context of restricted mobility, price volatility, and general uncertainty. Some features of the CAM region played an important role in mediating the impact of COVID-19 and associated sanitary measures. We identify as particularly relevant the nature of agricultural exports, the current structure of the agricultural sector, the diversified livelihood strategies of rural households, and the importance of mobility for rural livelihoods. SIGNIFICANCE: The results presented focus only in the immediate effect of COVID-19 pandemic and the mechanisms implemented by farmers in the first months. Whether these impacts and response mechanisms will result in a transformation of the farming systems towards greater resilience and sustainability is still an open question. |
format |
Article |
topic_facet |
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE FARMING SYSTEMS PANDEMICS |
author |
Lopez-Ridaura, S. Sanders, A. Barba‐Escoto, L. Wiegel, J. Mayorga-Cortes, M. Gonzalez-Esquivel, C. Lopez-Ramirez, M.A. Escoto-Masis, R.M. Morales-Galindo, E. García-Barcena, T.S. |
author_facet |
Lopez-Ridaura, S. Sanders, A. Barba‐Escoto, L. Wiegel, J. Mayorga-Cortes, M. Gonzalez-Esquivel, C. Lopez-Ramirez, M.A. Escoto-Masis, R.M. Morales-Galindo, E. García-Barcena, T.S. |
author_sort |
Lopez-Ridaura, S. |
title |
Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico |
title_short |
Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico |
title_full |
Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico |
title_fullStr |
Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico |
title_full_unstemmed |
Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico |
title_sort |
immediate impact of covid-19 pandemic on farming systems in central america and mexico |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10883/21550 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT lopezridauras immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT sandersa immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT barbaescotol immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT wiegelj immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT mayorgacortesm immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT gonzalezesquivelc immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT lopezramirezma immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT escotomasisrm immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT moralesgalindoe immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico AT garciabarcenats immediateimpactofcovid19pandemiconfarmingsystemsincentralamericaandmexico |
_version_ |
1756087000381784064 |