Abstract

FLETES OCON, Héctor B.; RANGEL, Francisco; OLIVA VELAS, Apolinar  and  OCAMPO GUZMAN, Guadalupe. Pequeños productores, reestructuración y expansión de la palma africana en Chiapas. Región y sociedad [online]. 2013, vol.25, n.57, pp.203-239. ISSN 2448-4849.

In the context of the agri-food industry's dynamism and contradictions, small producers are encouraged to restructure their production by planting biofuel-oriented crops such as African palm. This article analyzes the processes of productive restructuring promoted by corporations and the State, as well as the actions that small producers have taken in a municipality with high social marginalization located in an agricultural export region in Chiapas. Social and environmental contradictions of this restructuring are analyzed, as well as its implications in terms of national food and agricultural development. The expansion of African palm cultivation accentuates social inequalities, degrades natural resources, uses a large amount of fossil energy, drives land concentration, weakens local food provision systems, and restricts small producers from generating greater value within the agri-food chain.

Keywords : state; agricultural development; agri-food chains; biofuels; food security.

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