Public Policies and Maize in Mexico: the Contract Farming Scheme

Abstract

Mexico’s food dependence has deepened over the last decade, largely by increasing imports of grain from the United States. These purchases have hurt Mexican producers of these goods, given the increasing difficulties in the domestic market place. In response, the government implements since the nineties of the last century various programs to support both these agents and to the consumer companies, among which is the contract farming. The objective of this article is to analyze the characteristics of that program in the case of the yellow maize, and the reaches and limitations that have had in producers and companies. We found that the subsidies of the government, the efficient organization of the producers and other favorable conditions at productive level, are necessary but no sufficient conditions for the support of the studied contractual regime, playing a central role the present conjuncture of high international prices of the grains. Also it is emphasized the reduced number of producers subsidized under the commercialization programs, in consonance with the limited budget in this matter, which demonstrates the governmental policy of abandonment to the promotion of the productivity between the great majority of grain producers of the country.