Socio-agronomic characterization of agricultural farmers that survive in the community of San Diego, Texcoco

Abstract

Objective: to characterize farmers who still grow food in the San Diego community through knowledge of their agricultural production systems. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: field visits and tours were carried out to the farmers' plots to obtain information that would allow the design of a questionnaire for the agronomic and social classification of farmers in San Diego. The questionnaire was applied to 26 of them; who narrated some historical facts about their survival in food production. Results: most of the farmers interviewed are on average 55 years old, have a level of education equal to or higher than middle school, have three economic dependents, use the yoke for tilling their soils and hybrid seed. Likewise, they apply organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers to their plots for the growth of crops, for the control of pests and diseases they use agrochemicals; and the control of weeds is done manually, supplying water for the crops through gravity irrigation. Study limitations/ Implications: this research was conducted during the CovID-19 pandemic. For this reason, only 26 farmers could be located. Most of them were at home. Findings/ Conclusions: in the community of San Diego, two types of farmers can be identified, those who carry out practices related to conventional agriculture, and others who maintain traditional practices, but combine them with conventional agriculture.