Decisive Factors Associated to Land Tenure and Plot Size in Sugarcane Fields in Mexico

Diversity in the sugarcane field is the result of the combination of social groups, historical processes and natural conditions, which vary in every region. Among the factors affecting agricultural production, land ownership represents the most valuable economic capital, along with other factors related to the social and cultural capital of the farmer; and women tend to have less access to this than men do. We attempted to diagnose the factors that affect land ownership in the sugarcane field in Tamaulipas, Mexico, taking a gender perspective. Data from a sample of 546 sugarcane suppliers from 6 municipalities in Tamaulipas were obtained, and the association between dichotomous variables was sought by applying statistical tests, such as Yule’s φ (phi) coefficient, tetrachoric correlations and Fisher’s test; a predictive model based on logistic regression was also constructed. The association between gender variables and land ownership, decision-making power, irrigation, sugarcane registration, other income, alternative crops, and area in hectares is evident. Women represent less than one-fifth of the total sugarcane suppliers in Tamaulipas, Mexico. They own agricultural land with available irrigation in a slightly higher proportion than men, but their plots are smaller, and they have less say in their cultivation. They lag behind in terms of being included in sugarcane registers and are less often involved in other productive activities to provide them with additional resources for subsistence; it is desirable that the government enforce gender equality and guarantee a legal framework so that women can have rent or possession and control of agricultural land, without size limitation.