Martina Blanca-Bautista’s research while affiliated with Colegio de Postgraduados and other places

Objective: To determine the social usefulness of the backyard system biodiversity for rural families in the municipality of Calpan, Puebla. Design/Methodology/Approach: One-hundred questionnaires were applied to informants of the selected families. The selection was based on a non-probability snowball sampling, using saturation to generate the maximum amount of data. The SPSS software was used to analyze data. Results: Backyard systems have a great biodiversity, including vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants, medicinal plants, and animal species. Women carry out most of the work (65%), using biodiversity as a strategy to produce food, generate income and jobs, and preserve medicinal and other plants used for spiritual development. Study Limitations/Implications: The lack of family backyard records hindered the accurate calculation of the sample size. Findings/Conclusions: The collection and preservation of local biodiversity is the basis of backyard systems where vegetables, medicinal and ornamental plants, and animal species are produced as part of a family strategy.

En la agricultura familiar campesina desde hace cientos de años se práctica de manera tradicional el sistema milpa

Peasant farming systems are multifunctional, since their culture-based structure generates different environmental, social and economic functions. However, agricultural modernization and the change from agricultural to urban zones have caused the loss of multifunctionality in these systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to generate a peasant family farming multifunctionality index for the municipality of Calpan, Puebla. A survey was conducted to gather information and the instrument was a questionnaire applied to a sample of 81 producers. A peasant family farming multifunctionality index (PFFMI) was generated, made up of four fields: sociocultural, environmental, economic, and territorial; four general functions, 12 specific ones, and 17 indicators. The results show a PFFMI of 72.61, corresponding to category IV, medium high, with outstanding functions such as: conservation of knowledge, maintenance of agricultural biodiversity, conservation of agroecological practices, consolidation of food security, promotion of job generation, support of landscapes configurations, and rootedness of the territory. The study concludes that peasant family farming maintains a high functionality.

The concept of multifunctionality assumes that agriculture fulfills non-market functions, such as food, environmental, social, and cultural functions. It is a way to move towards a sustainable agriculture more respectful of human beings and the environment, which persists in different agricultural territories. However, it is pressured by economic activities for business purposes, which has generated its deterioration. The research objective was to identify the main functions of peasant family farming in the municipality of Calpan, Puebla. A survey was applied in 2020 with the aim of capturing information on the different social processes related to the multifunctionality of family farming. A stratified random sampling (SRS) with Neyman distribution was applied to determine the sample size, resulting in a sample of 81 producers. Among the main functions are: the sociocultural ones, 81% base their agricultural practices on the lunar phases; in the environmental ones is the conservation of agrobiodiversity; in the economic ones, agriculture is the primary source of income for 45%, generates jobs for 100% and contributes to food security in corn and beans for 53%. Finally, in the territorial ones, the intergenerational replacement stands out, 75% of young people who wish to continue participating in agricultural activities. It is concluded that peasant family farming is fundamental since it preserves social, cultural, economic, environmental, and territorial functions that benefit families, the environment, and society.