Subsistence Under The Canopy: Agroecology, Livelihoods And Food Sovereignty Among Coffee ...

238 Pages·2016·2.68 MB·English

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Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses
2015
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Margarita Fernandez
University of Vermont
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Fernandez, Margarita, "Subsistence Under The Canopy: Agroecology, Livelihoods And Food Sovereignty
Among Coffee Communities In Chiapas, Mexico" (2015). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 514.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/514
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SUBSISTENCE UNDER THE CANOPY: AGROECOLOGY, LIVELIHOODS AND
FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AMONG COFFEE COMMUNITIES IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO

A Dissertation Presented

by

Margarita Fernandez

to

The Faculty of the Graduate College

of

The University of Vermont

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Specializing in Plant and Soil Science

May, 2015

Defense Date: March 26, 2015
Dissertation Examination Committee:

V. Ernesto Mendez, Ph.D., Advisor
Amy Trubek, Ph.D., Chairperson
Lini Wollenberg, Ph.D.
Stephanie Hurley, D.Des.
Cynthia J. Forehand, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College
© Copyright Margarita Fernandez
May 2015
ABSTRACT

One of the most pressing challenges facing the world today is how to sustainably
feed a growing population while conserving the ecosystem services we depend on.
Coffee landscapes are an important site for research on agrifood systems because they
reflect global-scale dynamics surrounding conservation and livelihood development.
Within them, we find both what is broken in our global agrifood system, as well as the
grassroots struggles that strive to change the system by building socio-ecologically
resilient, sustainable livelihoods. Research shows that smallholder shade coffee farmers
steward high biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. At the same time,
studies in the last decade demonstrate that many smallholder coffee farmers in
Mesoamerica suffer annual periods of seasonal hunger, as well as pervasive poverty. This
dissertation explores household livelihood strategies, with a particular emphasis on
agroecology, and how they can contribute to build sustainable systems that secure food
and maintain biodiversity in coffee communities of Chiapas, Mexico.
Research was conducted using a mixed methods approach, which included the
collection of quantitative and qualitative socio-ecological data through focus groups,
surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation and plant inventories.
Surveys were conducted with 79 households in 11 communities, all located within the
buffer zone of a biosphere reserve. A stratified random sample of 31 households from
these 79 were surveyed again to collect more in-depth data, including the collection of
biophysical data in their subsistence and coffee land use systems. The following research
questions were explored:

1) What are the major ecological, social, economic, and political drivers of
seasonal hunger?
2) What is the relationship between agrobiodiversity (plant and livestock
diversity) and food security (months of adequate household food provisioning
and dietary diversity)?
3) What household livelihood assets and strategies contribute to or limit food
security and food sovereignty?

Across the sample population, total agrobiodiversity and maize and bean
production were strongly correlated with improved food security. Coffee income was not
strongly correlated with improved food security, which suggests that income is used for
priorities within the household other than food, despite seasonal food shortages. Results
demonstrate the importance of balancing subsistence and commodity (i.e. coffee)
production in these communities, where subsistence food serves as a risk management
strategy to buffer against volatility in coffee prices, in addition to offsetting income that
might be used for food towards non-food expenses. Subsistence production, which
typically applies agroecological practices in this site, also holds important cultural and
environmental value. The results of this research indicate that government policy and
development practice should enable farmers to maintain the social, ecological and
cultural processes that support the management of agrobiodiversity for subsistence and
coffee.
DEDICATION

For my mother, Margarita Fernandez,
who instilled in me a love and appreciation for the power and beauty of food.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This dissertation would not have been possible without the generosity of the coffee
farmers of the Sierra Madre of Chiapas who opened their doors and shared their stories
about the struggles and successes of their diverse attempts at building sustainable
livelihoods. I extend deep gratitude to the staff and youth promoters at CESMACH, in
particular Octavio Carbajal, Silvia Roblero, Sixto Bonilla, Nestor Hernandez, Juventino
Garcia, Raul Isauro, Hernan Figueroa, Rigoberto Hernandez, Abimael Roblero,
Candido Vasquez, Ada Marioly Ortiz, and Norma Gomez for working closely with me
in the design, implementation and analysis of this collaborative research project. I
would also like to thank Alejandro Musalem and Cesar Durantes, from Heifer
International, for participating in the design and analysis of the research, and for our
many enlightening conversations.

This dissertation would not have been possible without the intellectual guidance and
friendship of my advisor, Ernesto Mendez, who first introduced me to participatory
action research in 2002, which convinced me I didn’t want to do research any other
way. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues from the Agroecology and
Rural Livelihoods Group who supported me academically and with lots of laughter
over the past 4.5 years – Marcela Pino, Martha Caswell, Sebastian Castro, Meryl
Richards, Katlyn Morris, Rachel Schattman, Katie Goodall and Vic Izzo.

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I would also like to thank my committee members for challenging me to explore unique
angles in my research – Amy Trubek, Lini Wollenberg, and Stephanie Hurley. In
Chiapas, I would like to thank Maria Elena Martinez-Torres from CIESAS and Lorena
Soto-Pinto from ECOSUR for serving as my advisors during my stay in Chiapas.

I extend deep gratitude to my funders, Keurig Green Mountain, and in particular to
Colleen Popkin and Rick Peyser. Thank you for making this life changing experience
possible.

Finally, I’d like to thank my husband, Ben Hodgdon, and my girls Carmen and
Lucia, for uprooting their lives to move to Chiapas with me and for seeing me
through the finish line with lots of love, encouragement and patience.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iii
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER 1: CONTEXT, CONCEPTS AND RESEARCH DESIGN .......................... 1
1.1. Introduction............................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Research Site: Chiapas, Mexico and CESMACH ................................................. 4
1.3. Research Concepts ................................................................................................. 8
1.3.1. Food Security .................................................................................................... 9
1.3.2. Food Sovereignty ............................................................................................ 14
1.3.3. Agroecology ................................................................................................... 16
1.3.4. Political Ecology ............................................................................................. 20
1.3.5. Livelihoods ..................................................................................................... 24
1.3.6. Participatory Action Research ........................................................................ 33
1.3.7. Literature review of seasonal hunger in coffee communities ......................... 35
1.4. Research Design .................................................................................................. 39
1.4.1 Research Objectives and Conceptual Framework ........................................... 39
1.4.2. Research Methodology ................................................................................... 42
1.5. Participatory Action Research Process and Action Outcomes ............................ 45
1.5.1. PAR Process ................................................................................................... 45
1.5.2. Action Outcomes ............................................................................................ 47
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1.6. Literature Cited .................................................................................................... 51
CHAPTER 2: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AGROECOLOGY: FARMERS’
PERCEPTIONS, PRACTICES AND A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN CHIAPAS,
MEXICO ........................................................................................................................ 57
2.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 57
2.2. Agroecology, Food Security, and Food Sovereignty: Conceptual Intersections
and Contrasts .............................................................................................................. 59
2.3. Research Approach .............................................................................................. 64
2.4. Study Site ............................................................................................................. 66
2.5. Methods ............................................................................................................... 68
2.6. Results ................................................................................................................. 70
2.6.1. Perceptions of Food Security and Food Sovereignty ..................................... 70
2.6.2. Development Project ...................................................................................... 72
2.6.3. Food Security Indicators ................................................................................. 75
2.6.4. Land Use Systems, Agroecology, and Food Security .................................... 79
2.7. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 82
2.7.1. Food Security and Sovereignty: Synergies and Contrasts .............................. 82
2.7.2. Agroecology, Seasonal Hunger, and Food Sovereignty ................................. 85
2.8. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 87
2.9. Literature Cited .................................................................................................... 89
CHAPTER 3: SUBSISTENCE UNDER THE CANOPY: AGROBIODIVERSITY’S
CONTRIBUTIONS TO FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY AMONGST COFFEE
COMMUNITIES IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO .................................................................. 95
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3.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 95
3.2. Study Site ............................................................................................................. 99
3.3. Research Approach and Methodology............................................................... 101
3.4. Results ............................................................................................................... 105
3.4.1. Food Security ................................................................................................ 105
3.4.2 Agrobiodiversity ............................................................................................ 109
3.5. Discussion .......................................................................................................... 115
3.5.1 Farm diversity and thin months ..................................................................... 115
3.5.2 Farm diversity and dietary diversity .............................................................. 117
3.5.3 Balancing plural economies for food security ............................................... 119
3.6. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 121
3.7. Literature Cited .................................................................................................. 124
CHAPTER 4: BUILDING LIVELIHOOD RESILIENCE THROUGH
AGROECOLOGY AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: A CASE STUDY FROM
CHIAPAS, MEXICO ................................................................................................... 131
4.1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 131
4.2. Livelihoods and Agroecology ........................................................................... 132
4.3. Study Site ........................................................................................................... 139
4.4. Methods ............................................................................................................. 141
4.5. Results ............................................................................................................... 144
4.5.1. Livelihood Typologies .................................................................................. 144
4.5.2 Human Assets ................................................................................................ 145
4.5.3 Social Assets .................................................................................................. 146
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