The still-attractive price offered by ASEJO and the increasing demand for improved seeds demonstrate the importance of capitalization in the intensification of seed multiplication activities. According to a market economy logic, a major investment of land, labor and other assets in this highly remunerative enterprise might be expected, at the expense of self-consumption production and other income-generating activities. Nevertheless, an analysis of the livelihood strategies adopted by the households of five ASEJO members in 2004 suggests this has not been the case[24].
As illustrated in Table 1, during 2004, all five households continued to make major investments of land (and labor) in the production of maize and beans for self-consumption (on both irrigated and rain fed land plots). At the same time, they maintained their engagement in a variety of alternative income-generating activities (including migratory wage labor). Although, at the beginning of the year, the poor performance of the ICTA seeds may have contributed to a reduced enthusiasm for seed multiplication, this behavior actually emphasizes that ASEJO members do not always aim at maximization of profit. Instead, their livelihood strategy is based on two Chayanovian principles: "feed the family first" and "spread risk"[25]. At the household level, food security and risk aversion continue to act as powerful factors which make ASEJO members extremely cautious about investing in seed multiplication. The findings of a retrospective cost/benefit analysis of 2004 seed multiplication illustrate how adaptive this cultural choice is for highly vulnerable campesino households.
Table 1 - Main activities in the livelihood strategies of five ASEJO members in 2004
|
ASEJO member |
Total land used for producing maiz and bean for self
consumption |
Irrigated land used for maize and bean seed
multiplication |
Use of irrigated land after maize and bean seed harvest |
Additional household activities |
|
Belisario |
1 |
0.5 |
Maize and beans for self-consumption |
Wage labor, fruit orchard |
|
Claudio |
1.9 |
2.3 |
Maize and beans for self-consumption |
Coffee |
|
Esvin |
2.3 |
1.3 |
Maize and beans for self-consumption, French bean |
Wage labor, vegetable garden, honey, sorghum |
|
Isabel |
0.9 |
0.9 |
Maize and beans for self-consumption |
Wage labor, fruit orchard |
|
Neftalí |
1.5 |
0.5 |
Maize and beans for self-consumption |
Vegetables, poultry |
* 1 manzana = 0.7 ha
|
[24] Household strategy
information was gathered through a structured questionnaire. This questionnaire
was used also to collect the quantitative data needed to conduct the
cost/benefit analysis of seed multiplication in 2004 whose findings are
presented in the following section. [25] Chayanov, A.V. (1966) "The Theory of Peasant Economy"; Scott, J. (1976) "The Moral Economy of the Peasant. Rebellion and Subsistence in South-East Asia" |
