Governing intensification: the influence of state institutions on smallholder farming strategies in Calakmul, Mexico

State policies in Calakmul, Mexico, inadvertently undermine smallholder agricultural sustainability by incentivizing and imposing intensification through subsidies and regulations. Research combining household surveys and key-informant interviews reveals that while such policies aim to balance conservation and livelihood goals, they lead to increased reliance on external inputs and prolonged cultivation periods between fallows—threatening the resilience of traditional agroecosystems. This finding highlights the unintended consequences of state-driven intensification in forest frontiers, where limited livelihood alternatives exacerbate the risks.

Dobler-Morales, C., Roy Chowdhury, R., & Schmook, B. (2019). Governing intensification: the influence of state institutions on smallholder farming strategies in Calakmul, Mexico. Journal of Land Use Science, 15(2-3), 108–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423x.2019.1646334