Artículos de revistas
Building an agroecological model to understand the effects of agrochemical subsidies on farmer decisions
Fecha
2022-01-01Registro en:
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
2168-3573
2168-3565
10.1080/21683565.2022.2039837
2-s2.0-85125299291
Autor
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
BVP-FUNCAP Universidade Estadual Do Ceará (UECE)
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Chulalongkorn University
Comisión Nacional Para El Conocimiento Y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO)
Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul
Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC)
Institución
Resumen
We present a simple simulation model whose purpose is to explore qualitatively and heuristically the effects that agrochemical subsidies could have on the type of decisions farmers make about their plots (keeping other variables fixed). We use elements of Chayanovian thinking and ecological complexity as a basis, considering that this decision is made by families with heterogeneous preferences in a context with a dynamic that, on the one hand, is non-linear for ecological cycles, and, on the other hand, is chaotic in terms of the interaction with the market. The model describes the relationship between the ecological-productive potential or capacity of a plot and the total production, as well as the effect of management (agroecological or agrochemical) on the ecological capacity. We explore the effect of agrochemical subsidies on this decision and discuss the consequences of these public policy instruments on the lives of farming families. The model shows that by using agrochemicals, both the economy and the ecological balance of the plot enter an unstable pattern with harmful long-term consequences, as there could be a significant reduction in household savings. The same effect is observed on production, since the ecological capacity tends to decrease throughout the simulation.