Person: Lopez-Ridaura, S.
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Lopez-Ridaura
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Lopez-Ridaura, S.
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0000-0002-9208-5341 7 results
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- Review of agronomic research on the milpa, the traditional polyculture system of Mesoamerica(Frontiers Media S.A., 2023) Fonteyne, S.; Castillo Caamal, J.B.; Lopez-Ridaura, S.; Van Loon, J.; Espidio Balbuena, J.; Osorio Alcalá, L.; Martínez Hernández, F.; Odjo, S.; Verhulst, N.
Publication - Immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on farming systems in Central America and Mexico(Elsevier, 2021) Lopez-Ridaura, S.; Sanders, A.; Barba-Escoto, L.; Wiegel, J.; Mayorga-Cortes, M.; Gonzalez-Esquivel, C.; Lopez-Ramirez, M.A.; Escoto-Masis, R.M.; Morales-Galindo, E.; García-Barcena, T.S.
Publication - Maize intercropping in the milpa system. Diversity, extent and importance for nutritional security in the Western Highlands of Guatemala(Nature Publishing Group, 2021) Lopez-Ridaura, S.; Barba-Escoto, L.; Reyna, C.; Sum-Rojas, C.; Palacios-Rojas, N.; Gerard, B.
Publication - Non-linear interactions driving food security of smallholder farm households in the western highlands of Guatemala(Frontiers, 2020) Barba-Escoto, L.; Wijk, M. van; Lopez-Ridaura, S.
Publication - Towards more sustainable agricultural landscapes: lessons from Northwestern Mexico and the Western Highlands of Guatemala(Elsevier, 2020) Dale, V.H.; Kline, K.L.; Lopez-Ridaura, S.; Eichler Inwood, S.E.; Ortiz-Monasterio, I.; Ramírez, L.F.
Publication - Increasing social-ecological resilience within small-scale agriculture in conflict-affected Guatemala(Resilience Alliance, 2018) Hellin, J.; Ratner, B.D.; Meinzen-Dick, R.; Lopez-Ridaura, S.Climate change scenarios suggest largely detrimental impacts on agricultural production from a deterioration of renewable natural resources. Over the last 15 years, a new field of research has focused on the interactions between climate and conflict risk, particularly as it relates to competition over natural resources and livelihoods. Within this field, there has been less attention to the potential for resource competition to be managed in ways that yield greater cooperation, local adaptation capacity, social-ecological resilience, and conflict mitigation or prevention. The challenge of increasing social-ecological resilience in small-scale agriculture is particularly acute in the socioeconomically and agroecologically marginalized Western Highlands of Guatemala. Not only is climate change a threat to agriculture in this region, but adaptation strategies are challenged by the context of a society torn apart by decades of violent conflict. Indeed, the largely indigenous population in the Western Highlands has suffered widespread discrimination for centuries. The armed conflict has left a legacy of a deeply divided society, with communities often suspicious of outsider interventions and in many cases with neighbors pitted against each other. We use the example of the Buena Milpa agricultural development project to demonstrate how grassroots approaches to collective action, conflict prevention, and social-ecological resilience, linking local stakeholder dynamics to the broader institutional and governance context, can bear fruit amidst postconflict development challenges. Examples of microwatershed management and conservation of local maize varieties illustrate opportunities to foster community-level climate adaptation strategies within small-scale farming systems even in deeply divided societies.
Publication - Maize diversity, market access, and poverty reduction in the Western Highlands of Guatemala(International Mountain Society, 2017) Hellin, J.; Cox, R.; Lopez-Ridaura, S.The western highlands of Guatemala lie within the area where maize was first domesticated, and maize remains central to farmers' livelihood security. Over 50% of the population in the region are in poverty, and over 48% suffer from chronic malnutrition. Development efforts have focused on improved land management, crop diversification, and improved access to markets, especially for high-value vegetable crops such as snow peas. As a result of successful initiatives worldwide, more attention is being directed at the extent to which farmers can benefit from market opportunities for indigenous crops by receiving a price premium for providing the environmental service of conserving agricultural biodiversity. Such an approach bridges the gap between poverty alleviation and in situ conservation. We explored this potential development pathway through both qualitative and quantitative research. Focus groups were conducted in 5 communities in the maize-growing highlands of Guatemala, followed by a survey of 989 farm households in 59 locations. Our results show that most farmers in the western highlands of Guatemala are severely maize deficient; on average, farm households produce enough maize for only 6.9 months of consumption a year and are forced to purchase maize to meet basic consumption needs. The results are in sharp contrast to research conducted in highland communities in neighboring Mexico, where many farmers are able to sell their maize in relatively lucrative specialty maize markets. In the context of renewed interest in reducing poverty in Central America, our research suggests that rather than focus on market development for local maize varieties, development efforts should target other types of interventions.
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