The Private and Public Characteristics of Maize Land Races and the Area Allocation Decisions of Farmers in a Center of Crop Diversity

Melinda Smale (), Mauricio Bellon and Jose Alfonso Aguirre Gomez

No 7669, Economics Working Papers from CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

Abstract: This study uses an approach derived from models of the private and public characteristics of goods to illustrate (1) the overriding importance of variety attributes in farmers' decisions to allocate area among varieties of maize landraces and (2) the significance of farmers' perceptions of changes in the maize germplasm base in the surrounding community in their choices. Diversity indices and the concept of 'scale', as understood in ecology, are adapted and employed to test hypotheses empirically. Though a case study of maize farmers in Southeastern Guanajuato, the research raises methodological issues for models of variety choice and has policy implications for the potential to conserve maize genetic diversity on farms in Mexico.

Keywords: Crop; Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24
Date: 1999
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:cimmew:7669

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.7669

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