INFORME FINAL DEL PRECESAM - El Colegio de México

2.1 Liberalization of Staple Crops: Lessons from the Mexican Experience in
Maize, Yúnez and Serrano, Nov. 2008, paper presented at the 27th International
Conference of Agricultural Economists, Beijing, August, 2009.
In this paper we inquire why after more than 25 years of domestic agricultural
reforms in Mexico and 15 years of trade liberalization of maize under NAFTA –a
non-competitive crop and the major staple in Mexico–domestic production of this
field crop has increased. We present new empirical evidence showing that, as
expected, maize prices in Mexico dropped until 2006 and have experienced a
process of convergence with USA prices, and maize imports from the USA
increased. However, despite lower prices, maize production in Mexico rose and
has experienced a positive structural change since 1992, two years before the
beginning of NAFTA’s implementation. Based on the heterogeneity of maize
production in Mexico, three possible explanations are proposed to explain this
unexpected outcome: government supports to big commercial farmers in the
agriculturally rich North of Mexico; the persistence of maize production by
subsistence farmers; and to a lesser degree, increasing yields on some irrigated
maize farms. We finish the paper by drawing lessons from the experience of
Mexico for other Less Developed Countries.
2.2 Dispersal of Transgenes through Maize Seed Systems in Mexico. Running
head: Maize Transgenes in Mexico, George A. Dyer, et.al. Public Library of
Science PLoS ONE, June 1, 2009.
Current models of transgene dispersal focus on gene flow via pollen while
neglecting seed, a vital vehicle for gene flow in centers of crop origin and
diversity. We analyze the dispersal of maize transgenes via seeds in Mexico, the
crop’s cradle. We use immunoassays (ELISA) to screen for the activity of
recombinant proteins in a nationwide sample of farmer seed stocks. We estimate
critical parameters of seed population dynamics using household survey data
obtained by the NEHRUM and combine these estimates with analytical results to
examine presumed sources and mechanisms of dispersal. Recombinant proteins
Cry1Ab/Ac and CP4/EPSPS were found in 3.1% and 1.8% of samples,
respectively. Diffusion of seed and grain imported from the United States are
likely sources of transgenes in west-central Mexico, but this cannot explain their
distribution in the southeast. Understanding the potential for transgenes survival
and dispersal can help design methods to either promote or prevent the diffusion
of germplasm into local seed stocks. Further research is needed on the
interactions between formal and informal seed systems and grain markets in
centers of crop origin and diversification.
As increasing numbers of genetically modified crops are released into the
environment, the likelihood of unintended ecological effects on both agricultural