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Objective: To analyze the sexual division of labor and the distribution of benefits around milk and cheese production in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. Methodology: Interviews with 14 women and 17 men, two workshops, participant observation, and 90 questionnaires applied to male and female landowners. Results: Most landowners (67.7%) sell unprocessed milk to cheesemakers in the region. Female landowners are either widows or single; as such, they have less access to resources and lower production levels. A smaller percentage (18.8%) of families transform milk into cheese, with women playing a crucial role and having a larger access to benefits. Limitations: Landowners were selected from the Ministry of Agriculture program lists, thus excluding cattle owners who are not beneficiaries. Conclusions: First, the marital status of women (widowhood or single) increases their vulnerability in the milk market traditionally dominated by men. Second, the transformation of milk into cheese is decreasing in the region, and with it, women's participation in processing tasks and access to ranch benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay have adopted wind energy as a means to fight climate change. However, their experiences are different and insufficiently documented. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the wind industry in light of its future expansion in Latin America. The methodology consists of the systematization and analysis of literature written in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Four advantages and five disadvantages were identified. The advantages are wind energy's reduced carbon footprint, low production costs, the potential for job creation and income from land rentals, while the disadvantages are possible vegetation loss, impact on birds and water sources, oil and waste contamination and health damage. The challenges for public policy are: supporting research on the socioenvironmental impacts of the wind industry and designing tools for their mitigation; developing a full supply chain of materials through technological innovation; distributing the benefits of wind energy equally among the local population, and prioritizing public needs of electricity above the interest of the private sector. If these challenges are not fully met, wind energy projects will be part of a hegemonic structure that claims to solve the problems created by climate change, while in fact continuing to use an extractivist logic, incapable of benefitting people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to assessment livestock units (UGs) with a development index of silvopastoral systems in Mezcalapa, Chiapas, Mexico. A questionnaire was applied to 23 producers. The characterization was carried out through the development index of silvopastoral systems (IDESSP), which was generated from the following indicators: area sown with ISPS, linear meters of live fences per hectare, and grassland area with scattered trees and shrubs per cow. The LUs were grouped into three clusters, based on the IDESSP: high, medium and low. The results of the IDESSP showed significant differences between the three clusters (P≤0.05). 100% of the LUs in the sample have grassland with scattered trees and shrubs and live fences. 100, 22 and 20% of the LUs with high, medium and low IDESSP, respectively, established pastures with fodder trees in low planting density alleys. The forage trees Gliricidia sepium and Erythrina sp are present in most of the silvopastoral modalities identified. The LUs with high IDESSP have the largest land area (P≤0.05), herd size and the highest economic income, derived from the sale of calves and milk. The grassland with scattered trees and shrubs (TSPS) is the type of land use with the largest extent in the study area. Among the ISPS, the pastures with fodder trees in low planting density alleys was the one with the largest planted area, and it was present in at least two livestock units in each of the IDESSP clusters. The study area is almost entirely covered by traditional silvopastoral modalities where endemic high-forage value tree species that can be integrated into improved silvopastoral modalities were detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to identify perceptions of farmers from Mezcalapa, Chiapas regarding the influence of personal and sociocultural factors, as well as support from the government and academic institutions in adoption of silvopastoral systems (SPS). A semi-structured questionnaire was applied to 23 farmers, whose answers were verified in the field. An SPSS analysis showed three conglomerates with high, medium and low levels of the SPS development index (SPSDI). Differences (P<0.05) were found regarding area covered by SPS technician and for linear meters of living fence per hectare among the three levels of SPSDI. On average, 71 % of farmers believe they know somewhat or little regarding SPS. Eighty six (86) percent believe that younger generations are not interested in farming. Support from Technology Transfer and Validation Farmer Group advisors was satisfactory for 50 % of farmers but they indicated that such support has been temporary. One hundred percent, 74 % and 62 % of farmers with high, medium and low SPSDI, have received support from academic institutions. Eighty six % of farmers have insufficient income to purchase agricultural inputs. Farmer's receive $ 4.20 Mexican pesos per liter of milk and 67 % indicate that their income barely covers their needs. Interventions by intermediaries (middlemen) negatively affect 93 % of these farmers. Age, educational level, extra income, low levels of government support, and farmer's lack of knowledge have limited adoption of SPS; therefore complementary support from academic institutions has played a critical role for these farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]