Category: Economic and social impact
Forest cover change and land tenure change in Mexico’s avocado region: Is community forestry related to reduced deforestation for high value crops?
Forest cover change in highland pine-oak forests of Michoacan, Mexico is due to a process of conversion of natural forests to avocado orchards. Privately-owned avocado orchards are found on land that was common forest before the 1992 Reform of the Mexican Constitution. We ask how forest cover change was facilitated by policy changes that affected land tenure rules and existing community forestry programs. We use a comparative case study of four communities, an analysis of forest cover change, and
Socio-economic and technological typology of avocado cv. Hass farms from Antioquia (Colombia)
A typology of avocado cv. Hass farms was constructed based on information collected from productive units in Antioquia, Colombia. The study aimed to provide key information about the farms for those involved in the design of programs and public policies directed to growers. The data were scrutinized through Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Cluster Analysis. The sample was made up of 214 growers of the crop. Quantitative and qualitative variables were employed for the MCA, which rendered
Ecological and human dimensions of avocado expansion in México: Towards supply-chain sustainability
Avocados have become a global commodity, and environmental and socioeconomic impacts in the regions where avocados are grown have increased in tandem with production. In this article, we synthesize the current state of knowledge about the impacts of avocado production in Michoacán, México, the global center of avocado production. Environmental impacts on biodiversity, soil, and hydrological systems stem from deforestation and forest fragmentation that result from avocado expansion. The avocado
Socio-Environmental Impacts of the Avocado Boom in the Meseta Purépecha, Michoacán, Mexico
The rapid expansion of avocado orchards in the Meseta Purépecha, in the state of Michoacán in central Mexico, has mostly been driven by the increasing demand of North American consumers in the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While the cultivation of avocado has produced regional economic growth, economic profits are strongly concentrated, notably in the hands of American agribusiness, while its regional and local environmental impacts increasingly affect indigenous and
Economic Economic impact of the avocado (cv. Hass) wilt disease complex in Antioquia, Colombia, crops under different technological management levels
The avocado wilt disease complex is the most important pathology in avocado crops worldwide. Despite its importance, research about its economic losses is limited. In this work, the objective was to determine the economic impact of the wilt disease in three regions located in Antioquia, Colombia, and its relationship with the technological level of farm management. Six nurseries and 20 fruit production lots were tested for economic losses due to the wilt disease, including all crops stages of development.
Food Carbon Literacy: A Definition and Framework Exemplified by Designing and Evaluating a Digital Grocery List for Increasing Food Carbon Literacy and Changing Behavior
Public knowledge about the differences in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production and transportation of different kinds of food are generally low. People with an interest in choosing food with low greenhouse gas emissions must therefore either increase this “food carbon literacy” or be provided with such information when they decide what food to buy. Research about this specific kind of food literacy is, however, scarce, lacking both well-defined terminology and interventions attempting