Effects of the cancellation of a seed fair due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the seed flow and local economy of Xoy, a Yucatec Maya village

Xoy is a Yucatec Mayan village located at the maize belt of the Yucatan State, mostly inhabited by indigenous people who cultivate plants of multi-fold uses (food, handcrafting, construction, medicine, among other that may represent a petty cash income). This small settlement is known in the region as a seed supply centre for local crop diversity. For instance, every year, a seed fair where producers from this and neighbouring villages is held at Xoy. They all gather together to market their seeds, crafts, and other traditional products while also carrying cultural activities and exhibitions. In this way, the fair serves as a channel for the commercialization and dispersal of germplasm, not only for the region but across the Yucatan peninsula as many farmers not only attend as sellers or exhibitors but also as purchasers. See photo 1 (maize landraces lay out at the 2019 diversity fair).

So far, no COVID-19 cases have been confirmed at Xoy. However, neighboring villages do, reporting a relatively high incidence of the disease. Given the restrictions on mobility by the health authorities to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus, it hasn´t been possible to carry out the 2020 seed fair. As a result, both informal and formal exchange channels are now restricted and farmers from Xoy and neighbouring villages have not been able to sell the surpluses from the agrobiodiversity they grow and manage. The alternative to them has been to sell that at undervalued prices so that they can have some income for household needs and/or for the investment that is necessary to make at the beginning of every agricultural season. That has been the case maize landraces (seed); for other products, such as achiote paste  (Bixa orellana L.), which is a very valued condiment in the region, producers have stored the products for longer than usual at their homes with the hope that this can be sold latter at a fair price;  a similar situation is faced by those who elaborate handicrafts or other products derived from agricultural goods.

To conclude this note, it is important to highlight that the agrobiodiversity produced and maintained by the traditional farmers at Xoy and neighbouring villages, used be a reliable subsistence source before the pandemic, allowing this indigenous people to partially ensure household consumption needs even in adverse situations such as droughts and hurricanes. See photo 2 (maize plot at Xoy, Yucatán).

We think that agrobiodiversity and local seed exchange networks should be acknowledged as a potential means towards the economic recovery in the context of COVID-19. However, the so called “new normality” focuses in preventing the collapse of the health system and in an eventual reopening of the same economic activities than before; yet, so far, it does not provide alternatives for social economies, such as those that take place at diversity fairs, which are of great importance for the marketing  of either seeds or local agricultural products and derived goods. Therefore, and so far, under the umbrella of this “new normality”, rather than be supported, farmers and indigenous people who rely in local agrobiodiversity for subsistence may become even more vulnerable. Given this scenario, it is of great importance to strengthen the local seed and storage systems as well as the market for agrobiodiversity in the region, emphasizing in the local systems which have proved to be a resilient system.

Author Information

Luis Latournerie-Moreno, Tecnológico Nacional de México/I.T. de Conkal and

Javier O. Mijangos-Cortés, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C.

For more information please contact: luis.lm@conkal.tecnm.mx

Original text in Spanish adapted and translated by Diana Lope Alzina, HRF,

Alliance Bioversity International CIAT Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research