Rural poverty in Mexico: assets and livelihood strategies among the Mayas of Yucatán

Abstract

Understanding poverty and sustainability needs livelihood studies that acknowledge heterogeneity at the community and household level. This is particularly true for Latin America where inequality and ethnicity are important aspects of poverty and sustainability. This paper is a detailed examination of the natural resources, socio-economic assets and livelihood strategies of two Mayan communities of the Mexican State of Yucatán. There were three fundamental objectives: to elucidate the people's perceptions of poverty, to analyse their resource use and livelihood strategies, and to suggest ways in which access to markets can reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the dominance of certain successful strategies are made clear. First, milpa -the traditional system of maize production -is a way of life for the Mayas. Secure access to maize-producing land is a valuable asset, partly because it also attracts government subsidies. Second, ownership of small livestock is also part of Mayan life. Ownership of other assets such as beehives gives access to (relatively) lucrative product markets. Third, active agribusiness marketing also requires assets: ownership of transport services; finance to assemble and sell products such as forest fruits, honey and maize; business skills and an ability to create commercial linkages to traders. Appropriate interventions for different wealth groups are suggested to enhance sustainable development of the communities.

Understanding livelihood strategy-poverty links: empirical evidence from central highlands of Ethiopia

“…Similar results were reported in Kenya where the poor depend mostly on risky and less rewarding employments (such as charcoal making and fire wood selling) while the better off diversified into higher return off-farm activities such as salaried employment Freeman et al 2004;Liyama et al 2008). Lack of skills, knowledge, and financial capital are key barriers for the poor to engage in high economic return activities (Poole et al 2007;Babulo et al 2008;Liyama et al 2008). The finding was consistent with studies conducted in Kenya that showed the lowest third income groups were short of key assets except for their family working labour Ellis and Freeman 2004).…”

“…DfID 1999;Scoones 2005;Shiferaw et al 2007). Many cases that show links between poverty, livelihood, and sustainability largely depend on location-specific conditions and farmer characteristics (Poole et al 2007;Okello et al 2009). This requires empowerment, inclusion, and socio-economic and sustainable development policies with relevance to marginalized communities (Poole et al 2007).…”

“…Ensuring sustainability and international development goals in regions of extreme poverty with a resource base prone to degradation, is one of the most challenging policy issues today (Poole et al 2007). Integrated approaches to sustainable development that recognize the links between social and economic development, and environmental protection are given a high priority to reverse the challenge (Laye and Gaye 2008).…”

“…The issues of poverty, livelihoods of poor people, and development policies are all linked to the concept of sustainability containing environmental, economical, and social aspects (WCED 1987;Poole et al 2007). The links between development, resource base, and the concept of sustainability are traced back through the Brundtland report (WCED 1987).…”

“…But poor farmers continue to depend on natural resources for their livelihoods to meet short-term needs rather than long-term sustainability goals (Okello et al 2009). There is a need to understand livelihood-poverty links that recognize heterogeneity at community and household level to achieve sustainability goals (Poole et al 2007).…”