Native corn in Sinaloa: agroclimatic and sociocultural factors that limit its productivity

Abstract

The state of Sinaloa is internationally recognized for its high production of corn from commercial hybrids and technified systems. Nevertheless, native corn is also grown by small producers, mainly in the mountain region. This practice has experienced a sharp reduction in its sowing area as well as variability in its production. The objective was i) to identify the main agroclimatic and sociocultural factors that have influenced the reduction of the area allocated to the cultivation of native corn varieties; and ii) to analyze the variability in the production volumes of these types of corn in the northern regions of the state of Sinaloa. The data were categorized into quantitative and qualitative; the former were analyzed using one-way Anova and Pearson’s correlation, while the qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. Analysis of historical data from 1980 to 2023 indicates a substantial 88.6% reduction in the planting area allocated to native corn cultivation, whereas production is highly variable between harvests. This is a result of the decrease in rainfall and the increase in temperatures. Likewise, the lack of public policies, insecurity, and the migration of young people to urban areas have led small producers to consider abandoning traditional corn practices, reducing the production of rainfed native corn, and putting at risk the genetic diversity of corn, compromising the food security of communities.