Abstract

VAZQUEZ URIBE, Sara Rocío  and  GERRITSEN, Peter R. W.. Agroecological transition and dynamics of agricultural land use in the middle basin of the Ayuquila-Armería River in the south of the State of Jalisco: an approach. Invest. Geog [online]. 2021, n.106, e60403.  Epub June 06, 2022. ISSN 2448-7279.  https://doi.org/10.14350/rig.60403.

Agriculture is an essential activity for the development of human societies. However, with the emergence of modern societies there is a trend towards less sustainable production systems. Within this context, agribusiness agriculture has caused severe environmental impacts, and in turn, has led to the search for new, more sustainable production schemes. Among these schemes, the agroecological transition, that is, the transition to agriculture without external inputs, has received much attention.

Like many Latin American countries, Mexico follows the general trends and agricultural activity developed under the agro-industrial model, generating a large number of widely documented environmental problems. Faced with these problems, the agroecological transition has been an important issue, although mainly among peasant and social movements. As differences are observed in the different regions of Mexico, due to their specific characteristics, the knowledge of their dynamics under a regional approach is of utmost importance and allows us to reflect on the opportunities for transition towards more sustainable forms of production.

This article aims to analyze the dynamics of agricultural land use in the middle basin of the Ayuquila-Armería river in the southwest of the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico. The analysis presented is based on a spatial and temporal characterization of the crops of the spring-summer cycle sown during the period 1995-2017. The methodology used is based on a bibliographic review of the socio-environmental problems of this region, an inventory of the crops developed in the mentioned period, using information from 172 interviews applied to producers in the nine municipalities of the middle Ayuquila river basin- Armory during 2012. The PROCAMPO and PROAGRO registers of the spring-summer cycle of the analysis period (1995-2017) were also consulted. The identified crops were categorized into three classes: 1) non-agroindustrial crops, 2) intermediate and 3) agroindustrial, based on a number of sustainability indicators. Through the use of geographic information systems, these crops and their corresponding classification were georeferenced and spatially interpolated, using the Inverse Distance Interpolation (IDW) tool.

The results show that agricultural production in the middle basin of the Ayuquila-Armería river is centered on 15 crops that are mainly considered as agro-industrial crops. However, we observe differences within the region in terms of the presence of non-agroindustrial crops, which shows a differential potential for the agroecological transition.

The opportunities of the agroecological transition are higher in the municipalities of Unión de Tula, Tolimán, Tuxcacuesco and Zapotitlán de Vadillo, but in different ways. Some of the reasons are that in the last three they form a corridor with similar physical and socioeconomic conditions. However, in the municipalities of Tolimán and Tuxcacuesco various agribusinesses are established that make the place recognized as one of the most important areas for tomato production nationwide.

On the other hand, thinking about a transition in the municipalities of Autlán-El Grullo and El Limón, represents a greater challenge, because historically this valley has been occupied by national and foreign agricultural companies that have demanded different products, but mainly sugarcane. of sugar for the mill (Ingenio Melchor Ocampo) installed in the municipality of Autlán.

Based on the study that was carried out in the middle basin of the Ayuquila-Armería river, it can be concluded that classifying the crops into agro-industrial, intermediate and non-agro-industrial and visualizing their spatio-temporal presence, allows us to understand the regional agricultural dynamics and the regional potential. and intraregional for the agricultural transition.

In this sense, the analysis with geographic information systems showed that agro-industrial crops form “clusters” that exceed the political limits between municipalities, causing the encapsulation of non-agro-industrial crops, but that they can be seen as “agro-ecological niches”. However, changing the mode of production of agroindustrial crops is not an easy task, since it goes beyond the substitution of agrochemicals for organic inputs. Actions such as the conservation of the identified agroecological niches are key to guaranteeing food sovereignty and sustainability in the region. That is why strengthening and linking them ensures the maintenance of their knowledge and the development of more sustainable agriculture.

Keywords : Agriculture; agroecology transition; agroecology; agroindustriality and GIS.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )