Globalisation And Restructuring In Rural Mexico: The Case Of Fruit Growers

Mexico is the leading mango‐exporting country in the world. In this global commodity chain there is an important participation by small‐scale farmers whose products end up in US supermarkets. This paper analyses the linkages between the agriculture sector in a developing country and the global agro‐food system. Drawing on the development geography approach and the global commodity‐chain perspective, the effects and responses of global processes on local development are analysed by examining the relations between fruit export companies, local growers and consumer markets. Our case study is of small farmers (ejidatarios) who grow mangos in one of Mexico's main export‐oriented agricultural areas, the Bahía de Banderas Valley, and whose situation is similar to other small‐scale producers of non‐traditional products. The study examines the impact on the farmers of structural adjustment policies that have been implemented in Mexico since the mid‐1980s. It also examines the main livelihood strategies that ejidatarios and their households have been adopting during the same period.