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Role of small-scale dairy production systems in central Mexico in reducing rural poverty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2022

Mónica Elizama Ruiz-Torres
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales-Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Campus el Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P. 50090, México
Anastacio García-Martínez
Affiliation:
Centro Universitario Temascaltepec-Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Km 67.5 carretera Toluca, Tejupilco, C.P. 51300, México
Carlos Manuel Arriaga-Jordán
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales-Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Campus el Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P. 50090, México
Peter Dorward
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, PO Box 237, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
Adolfo Armando Rayas-Amor
Affiliation:
División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Departamento de Ciencias de la Alimentación-Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Lerma. Av. Hidalgo poniente No. 46 Colonia la Estación, 52006, Lerma de Villada, Estado de México, México
Carlos Galdino Martínez-García*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales-Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Campus el Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P. 50090, México
*
*Corresponding author. Email: cgmartinezg@uaemex.mx

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyze the role of small-scale dairy farms in central Mexico in combating rural poverty from a gender perspective. Specifically, it was determined whether these production systems generated sufficient income for alleviating poverty and purchasing the basic food basket. Two hundred and twelve farmers were selected through snowball sampling. To maintain a gender perspective, female-headed farms were considered as an independent group, and male-headed farms were grouped according to multivariate statistics. Two official indicators of poverty were considered in the economic analysis: income and the extreme poverty line. Factor analysis identified four factors that explained 66.10% of accumulated variance. The cluster analysis identified five groups of farms headed by males. Then, a comparative analysis was carried out for the six groups, including the female-headed group (FG). The economic analysis revealed that, if 52% of income are production costs, groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 generated sufficient gross income to purchase the basic food basket to the household of the area. However, the FG and group 5 did not generate sufficient gross income to purchase the food basket. In contrast, if 70% of income are productions costs, only groups 1 and 4 generated sufficient gross income. It can be concluded that small-scale dairy farms generate sufficient daily income under certain conditions for the purchase of the basic food basket and, therefore, help to fight poverty in rural families, especially in groups 1 and 4. In the case of the FG and groups 2, 3, and 5, dairy production along with the diversification of productive activities and backyard activities supports the livelihoods of rural families. It is recommended that existing gender norms be further explored because these could directly influence the motivation of farmers, particularly female producers, to adopt or reject agricultural and livestock technologies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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