Returning to the Roots of the Organic Ideal:
Local Markets and Participatory Certification in Mexico

Laura Gómez Tovar¹, Manuel Ángel Gómez Cruz², Rita Schwentesius³ and Erin Nelson⁴

Abstract
The amount of organic production in Mexico has been increasing rapidly over the past several years, and today over 80 000 producers farm organically on over 300 000 hectares of land. The vast majority of this production is focused on monocrop farming of export goods – particularly coffee, but also cacao, coconut, and other fruits and vegetables.

This situation raises questions regarding the degree to which organics is truly providing an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable alternative for Mexican producers and consumers.

However, over the past three years a network of local organic markets has begun to emerge across the country. These markets are an important means of ensuring that organic foods are not just available as a luxury product in the North, but also to consumers in the South.

One of the many challenges confronting these new markets is that economic and bureaucratic barriers make it difficult for the small scale producers involved to obtain organic certification. The notion of participatory certification offers a means to address this problem, as it relies on a combination of community based inspections, transparency, and trust between producer and consumer to maintain the integrity of the organic label.

While this system may be problematic for export oriented production, it is a useful way of helping promote and support local networks of organic production and consumption.

Although still in its early phases, the Mexican experience with local organic markets and participatory certification offers an important alternative to the industrialized, export-oriented, ‘mainstream’ organic sector.

See the full paper (PDF)


Source
Presented at the 2007 Social Sciences Symposium at the Guelph Organic Conference


Author Locations & Affiliations
(1) Programa Integración Agricultura Industria, Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Mexico, ciestaam@avantel.net
(2) Programa Integración Agricultura Industria, Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Mexico, ciestaam@avantel.net
(3) Programa Integración Agricultura Industria, Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Mexico, rsr@avantel.net
(4) Organic Agriculture Program, Falls Brook Centre, New Brunswick
Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Mexico, erinnelson@yahoo.com


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Posted March 2007