Socioconomic characteristics of the piloncillo producers and their family unit

The producers of piloncillo in the community have an age that fluctuates between 52 and 61 years. In the social variables, no significant differences were detected, in such a way that the producers interviewed from the three groups presented similar social characteristics (Table 1). The number of children that the peasant family unit (UFC) has, on average, ranges from four to six children. It was also identified that the number of family members still living in the home ranges from three to four children (Table 1).

According to the characterization of the three types of producers, it was observed that within the group of the partners of the organization 14 of them are engaged in agricultural activities, one producer has the trade of carpenter, one is a merchant of the DICONSA store and one more is dedicated to other activities. In the case of the group of former partners, all are engaged in agricultural activities, this same situation was presented by the group of producers who have never been in an organization. Almost all the producers interviewed speak an indigenous language (teenek), only one producer (ex-partner) does not speak an indigenous language.

The level of studies of the piloncillo producers of Aldzulup Poytzén is distributed as follows: 72% (26/36) have studies at the primary level, 14% (5/36) have studies at secondary level, 5.5% (2/36) have studies at the baccalaureate level, 5.5% have studies at the university level and 3% (1/36) do not have any level of study. The producers who have university studies; one belongs to the organization and one is a former partner of the organization.

Aspects related to the production of piloncillo in family agriculture

No significant difference was found between the total area and the area planted with sugarcane in the rural family unit of the community of Aldzulup Poytzen, the total surface ranges between 3.7 and 5.3 hectares, while the agricultural area available for planting sugarcane and production of piloncillo goes from 1 to 1.4 hectares with producers belonging to the organization (Table 2). According to the data obtained in the surveys, the average area of the family unit of the piloncillo producers in the community of Aldzulup Poytzen is representative of family farming.

Additionally, some authors have indicated that the production of piloncillo is done on small surfaces (^{Baca, 1995}; ^{Jurado and Botero, 2012}; ^{Ramírez, 2017}). In such a way that ^{Baca (1995)} observed in a study carried out on the piloncillera production in the Huasteca Potosina that “... the farmers dedicate a plot of 0.5 to 1 ha to produce corn for self-consumption; then, depending on the conditions of the land, they dedicate another plot of similar size to sugar cane for brown sugar, coffee or orange, or a combination of them”.

The variety of cane most used by producers of piloncillo is the Mexican variety ZMex 55-32 (44.4%), secondly, there is a foreign variety of Cane RD 75-11 (36.1%) and in third place, the Cane CP 72-2086 (Table 3). The two varieties most used by producers (ZMez 55-32 and RD 75-11), have an abundant production of foliage (^{Osorio, 2007}; ^{INIFAP 2016}), this characteristic represents an alternative potential use for producers of diversified family farming, the abundant foliage can be used by the producers for cattle feed.

The average cane yield varies from 25 to 72 t ha-1 among the piloncillo producers of the community of Aldzulup Poytzen. 47.2% (eight partners, six former partners and three non-organized producers) of the producers interviewed mentioned having an average yield of 25 to 35 tons of cane per hectare, 27.8% (four partners, one former partner and five producers) mentioned that the average yield they obtained was between 36 and 45 t ha^-1; finally, only one producer pointed out that it obtained yields of 56 to 65 t ha^-1. The best yields were obtained by producers of the organization: four partners and two former partners indicated that they obtained a production between 66 and 75 t ha^-1.

The latter agrees with that described by ^{Baca and Crispin (2013)} who indicate that if a producer of piloncillo has a yield higher than 60 t ha^-1, it is a reflection of the fact that the producer included technological innovation in his production through the use of improved varieties. The production of sugarcane in the community of Aldzulup Poytzen is carried out under rainfed conditions, the total of producers interviewed indicated that they do not use external inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides in cane production. So obtaining 60 t ha^-1 of cane or more in these conditions may be associated with the appropriate weather conditions and the use of improved varieties.

The cane production obtained is used to produce three types of piloncillo: black or industrial, white or cone, and granulated or crystallized piloncillo (^{Romero et al., 2011}). The production of industrial piloncillo per week and type of producer is the following; the members of the organization produce on average 200.9 kg week^-1, the former partners have an average production of 191.5 kg per week, and the producers who do not belong to any organization have an average production of 147.8 kg week^-1. The two producers that produce white piloncillo have a production per week of 300 kg (partner of the organization) and 150 kg week^-1 (ex-partner). On the other hand, the eleven producers who produce pelleted piloncillo have the following weekly production: 98 kilograms produce the 10 partners of the organization and 250 kilograms produces a former partner of the organization.

The prices per kilogram per type of piloncillo were obtained in the survey applied from january to march 2016. The price of the kilogram of industrial piloncillo was $3.90 (with a minimum price of 3 and a maximum of 4 pesos per kg), the price of the white piloncillo was of $6 kg^-1, finally the price of the granulated piloncillo was of $10.64 by kg (with a minimum price of seven and a maximum price of 20). Studies carried out in the Huasteca Potosina region have identified that the income of the family unit comes from the production and sale of piloncillo, which represents between 50 and 70%, the rest is made up of the production of its family garden and its production for self-consumption (^{Baca and Crispin, 2013}).

The producers of the community produce piloncillo during seven months in the year, the income obtained by the production and sale of industrial piloncillo oscillates between $2 108.00 to $3 054.10 pesos per month, whereas the obtained average income per month by the sale of piloncillo Granules range from $700.00 to $3 011.80 pesos. As noted, a producer who makes industrial piloncillo can even have a higher monthly income ($3 054.10) compared to a producer that produces pelleted piloncillo ($3 011.80) (Table 4).

According to ^{Baca (1995)} the production of piloncillo for the inhabitants of the Huasteca potosina is the main activity, not only in productive but also social and cultural terms, although economically they obtain little income due to the unfavorable marketing situation faced by these producers. These disadvantageous conditions are reflected, mainly in the producers of pelleted piloncillo, since they use a greater number of hours or even days in production (FAO-SAGARPA, 2007), subtracting available time to carry out other activities in the family unit. In this sense, the results obtained show us the effect, it seems that the preparation of granulated piloncillo is more demanding in resources (time, labor, equipment) and does not provide a significant differential in terms of income when compared with production of industrial piloncillo.

Types of piloncillo and relevant actors in marketing

In the community, white, industrial and granulated piloncillo is produced for sale. Although only two producers (a partner and a former partner) produce white piloncillo, one producer sells to a collector in the region and the second sells it to a municipality collector. The piloncillo that has greater production is the industrial piloncillo, 94.6% of the producers elaborate this type of piloncillo and only 11 producers (29.7%) elaborate granulated piloncillo (Table 5). This agrees with other studies, which indicate that “the variations during the production process are those that give rise to one or another type of piloncillo, being the black or industrial the one of greater production for being its less complex and more economic process, its presentation is the traditional cone blocks of one kilogram” (^{Romero et al., 2011}).

The commercialization of the piloncillo produced in the community of Aldzulup Poytzen is carried out through the collectors. The 86.1% of industrial piloncillo produced in the community is sold through collectors of the same community, 5.6% is sold with retailers of the municipality and only 8.38% of this type of piloncillo is marketed through regional collectors (Table 6). Among the producers of piloncillo in the community, there are three producers who are producers and collectors of industrial piloncillo. The work of the collectors is to buy the piloncillo from the producers of the community and sell it to intermediaries of the municipality or the region. The regional intermediaries are responsible for distributing the piloncillo to larger markets in the region or outside it.

The collection in the community consists of each producer taking the production of piloncillo to the house of the collector where the load is weighed and paid according to the current price. The collector of the region visits on average once a week the community to take the collected piloncillo, paying a minimum difference to the collector of the community for having made the collection. It is notorious to point out that, on many occasions, when a producer requires a loan or is in financial difficulty, he borrows from the collector who later discounted it from the production delivered.

On the other hand, the commercialization of granulated piloncillo is carried out through the organization of producers; nine producers sell to the organization, one producer (the leader of the organization) sells directly to national clients and in some organic tianguis. A former partner of the organization produces granulated piloncillo and sells it through a municipality collector. The fact that the vast majority of products market their production with intermediaries in the community may be due to the need to have immediate income, as ^{Muñoz (2015)} points out “... commercialization occurs in traditional markets and local, but there are intermediaries that capture production from the family unit, preventing the integration of marketing channels by producers”.

International organizations such as the Organization for the United Nations (^{FAO, 2015}) have pointed out that “farmers are currently trying to reinvent the markets for their products, from the defense and value of all their assets. These are not represented only by their availability of capital. The main asset is their family workforce, but there is also intellectual property, knowledge and land. From there they seek to create new markets, reinvent their agricultural practices and find new uses for the resources that are available on their farms”.

The production of piloncillo in indigenous communities of the Huasteca Potosina is an activity linked to the social, economic and cultural aspects that have continued for decades, which is why it is necessary to look for strategies that favor a greater commercialization margin for the producer, since as it points out FAO (2015) small producers are likely to increase their market share when specific conditions exist, such as stable prices and availability of credit, efficient infrastructure and extension services, allowing them to sell products that can be placed on the market at a reasonable cost (^{FAO 2015}).