Abstract

MAGDALENO-HERNANDEZ, Edgar; JIMENEZ-VELAZQUEZ, Mercedes A.; MARTINEZ-SALDANA, Tomas  and  CRUZ-GALINDO, Bartolome. Strategies of peasant families in Pueblo Nuevo, Municipality of Acambay, Estado de México. agric. soc. desarro [online]. 2014, vol.11, n.2, pp.167-179. ISSN 1870-5472.

The study shows the mechanisms that peasant families use in the community of Pueblo Nuevo to satisfy their basic dietary needs and to guarantee their reproduction. The families work in the search for food sustenance and they complement their income with other non-agricultural activities; in their peasant dynamic, the food production strategy directed at auto-supply and the market is analyzed, with the goal of understanding its importance. A mixed methodology is used: qualitative and quantitative methods, applying a survey to 35 heads of households. Traditional agriculture is practiced, which combines maize (Creole) cultivation, managing the milpa during pre-sowing by adding organic material, and a backyard breeding system for small livestock. The most representative strategy of the peasant family is auto-supply, since it complements the family's sustenance to guarantee peasant reproduction; they are occupied with temporary jobs in the same region, generating extra income. On the other hand, for some families the resources received from a family member who migrates somewhere different are also significant.

Keywords : traditional agriculture; basic crop; producer.

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