Integración mercantil de la milpa campesina y transformación de los conocimientos locales agrícolas

Maize is the main plant of “milpa”, a Mexican traditional agricultural system. It played a key role in the development of both, the “traditional” and the modern agriculture in Mexico. This article analyzes the evolution of knowledge around this crop, to understand the ways that agricultural innovations are integrated in household agriculture. Our anthropological research in two ejidos in the southeast of Veracruz documents cultural and market logics that guide agricultural practices linked to the maize crop. The production of the maize is considered a total social phenomenon because it is related in complex ways to all components of rural Mexican societies. The abandonment of native maize varieties –today, only 10% of local production– and the emphasis on hybrid varieties are indicators of the supremacy of the market logics over those of household consumption. We find that the conservation of native varieties depends on the social structure, on the ways in which rural communities adapt to a commercial agricultural model, and in particular on the resilience of social relations and social networks related to agricultural practices and exchange of products.