Agriculture, the Environment and Sustainability panel

The Genesis of a Binational
Collaboration
J. Edward Taylor
UC Davis
jetaylor.ucdavis.edu
precesam.colmex.mx
reap.ucdavis.edu
In the Beginning There Were
Questions to Answer
% Workforce in
Agriculture
A Big Underlying One: The Agricultural Transformation
Income
…Leaving in Its Wake Many Other
Questions
Can small farms
compete?
Is migration good or
bad for development
rural Mexico?
How can rural
households move out of
poverty?
Is Mexico
losing its
maize
genetic
resources?
Crime and corruption
How will Mexico adjust
to climate change?
Does immigration
policy matter?
Is migration
good for the
environment?
Where will U.S.
farmers get their
labor?
Is NAFTA good or
bad for Mexican
farmers?
Problem: Not Enough Data
Coahuila
Puebla
Michoacan
Jalisco
• Success, but
• Need to scale up
• Students
Ed and Antonio*
doing field work
*Antonio Yunez-Naude,
COLMEX
UC Mexus, William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation, CONACyT, Ford Foundation
REAP-UCD
* Desarrollo y Alimentacion Sustentable
PRECESAM-COLMEX/
DAS*
UC Mexus, William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation, CONACyT, Ford Foundation
PRECESAM-COLMEX/ DAS*
REAP-UCD
Mexico National Rural
Household Survey-ENHRUM
* Desarrollo y Alimentacion Sustentable
Network of Regional
Universities
Distribución regional de la
ENHRUM I
14 regional universities
More than 100 Mexican
students per round
Winter 2003, 2008, 2011
UC Mexus, William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation, CONACyT, Ford Foundation
PRECESAM-COLMEX/ DAS*
REAP-UCD
Mexico National Rural
Household Survey-ENHRUM
* Desarrollo y Alimentacion Sustentable
Network of Regional
Universities
UC Mexus, William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation, CONACyT, Ford Foundation
PRECESAM-COLMEX/ DAS*
REAP-UCD
USDA, UNFAO, Giannini
Migration &Rural
Economic Change
Mexico National Rural
Household Survey-ENHRUM
SEDESOL, CONEVAL,
Hewlett
Rural Poverty &
Economic Change
Environment, Natural
Resources, &
Sustainability
Ford Mexico
* Desarrollo y Alimentacion Sustentable
† Local Economy-wide Impact Evaluation
Network of Regional
Universities
LEWIE† & Policy
Analysis
OECD, World
Bank
The Bottom Line:
New Data (100,000 person-years)
Show That…
• Mexico’s farm labor supply is declining
• The demand for labor on Mexican farms is rising
• The reservation wage (minimum wage needed to
induce new workers to migrate) is increasing
• What does this mean for immigration policy?
• U.S. growers must look for labor substitutes
– Shift from labor-intensive FVH production
– Seek migrant workers from other countries
– Invest in labor-saving agricultural technologies
Migration and the End of Farm Labor
Abundance
Why an Immigration Deal
Won’t Solve the
Farmworker Shortage
UCD-PRECESAM
Student Awards and Positions
Student & REAP/
PRECESAM
Researcher
Research Area
Degree
Award
2013 BANAMEX Awa rd i n
Economi cs for the bes t res ea rch
Ph.D, Texa s A&M
(ba s ed on the quoted key
publ i ca ti on).
Current position
Res ea rcher a t Ba nco
de Mexi co
Mi ri a m Jua rez
Cl i ma te cha nge a nd wa ter us e i n Gua na jua to
Ja vi er Becerri l
Loca l economy-wi de i mpa cts of mi gra ti on a nd empl oyment
Ph.D, U of Ki el
i n rura l Mexi co
Bes t a rti cl e publ i s hed i n
Profes s or,
Problemas del Desarrollo, Na ti ona l Autonomous
Uni vers i ty of Mexi co
Uni vers i ty of Yuca ta n
Jes us Arel l a no
Cl i ma te cha nge a nd Mexi ca n a gri cul ture
MA, COLMEX
Fox Interna ti ona l Fel l ows hi p
Awa rd, Ya l e Uni vers i ty, 2007-8
Fi na nci era Rura l
Al eja ndro LopezFel dma n
Bi odi vers i ty, res ource extra cti on, a nd poverty
Ph.D, UC Da vi s
UC-CONACYT Fel l ows hi p
Cha i r, Economi cs
Depa rtment, CIDE
Da l e Ma nni ng
Mi gra ti on a nd Na tura l Res ource Extra cti on i n Rura l Mexi co Ph.D, UC Da vi s
As s oci a ti on for Energy Economi cs
Col ora do Sta te U
Bes t Student Pa per Awa rd
Li l i a n Al bornoz
Ma qui l a dora s a nd Hous ehol d Income i n Yuca tá n
MA, COLMEX
Awa rd for the bes t a rti cl e
publ i s hed i n Problemas del
Desarrollo, UNAM
Profes s or,
Autonomous
Uni vers i ty of Yuca ta n
Gera rdo Ara gon
Un es tudi o s obre el us o del a gua en Méxi co pa ra l a
i rri ga ci ón (M.A. thes i s )
MA, COLMEX
2010 Bes t M.A. thes i s i n
Economi cs . COLMEX; UC-CONACYT
Fel l ows hi p
Ph.D. s tudent, ARE, UCDAVIS
Angel Pi ta
Rel a ti ons hi p between economi c cha nge a nd crop di vers i ty
Ph.D, UC Da vi s
i n Mexi co
UC-MEXUS gra nt
Profes s or, Uni vers i ty
of Cha pi ngo
George Dyer-Lea l
Crop geneti c res ource cons erva ti on i n Mexi ca n ma i ze
AAEA Outs ta ndi ng Arti cl e Awa rd
Cons ul ta nt, Mex Ci ty
Irvi n Roja s
Eva l ua ci ón de Cons i s tenci a y Res ul ta dos de l os Progra ma s
COLMEX
de. AGROASEMEX
Inter-a meri ca n Devel opment
Ba nk Gra nt for Young
Res ea rchers ; UC-CONACYT
Fel l ows hi p
Ph.D. s tudent, ARE, UCDAVIS
Xochi tl Jua rez
Mi gra ti on a nd Gender i n a rura l vi l l a ge of centra l Mexi co
Ph.D, UC Da vi s
UC-MEXUS gra nt
Profes s or, Uni vers i ty
of Cha pi ngo
Jos e Lui s Ja ra mi l l i
Spa ti a l North Ameri ca n Agri -Food Ma rket Integra ti on
Ph.D, U of Guel ph CONACYT gra nt
Ph.D, UC Da vi s
Profes s or, Col egi o de
Pos gra dua dos -Puebl a
Some Thoughts and Lessons
• Need a big research question to build around
– But room to let lots of flowers bloom
• Build on existing institutions where possible
– Immediate bang for the buck
– New ones take time to build
– Ideal: A mixed strategy of short and long-run investments
• Catalyst projects bring people together
– Generate a flow of products
• Create assets everyone in the project can draw upon
– ENHRUM data, PRECESAM/DAS workshops, computer
code, etc.
• Integrate training, institution-building, outreach
• Combine best of both countries: Expertise, labs,
fieldwork
Challenges Along the Way:
Incentives and Resources
• Getting people on both sides of the border
fully invested (ahora somos compadres)
• UC’s merits and promotions do not reward
institution building and outreach much
– Opportunity costs are high (esp. for young profs)
– Research benefits have to exceed these
• Low academic salaries in Mexico don’t help
– Everyone has to consult, but program-building
requires long-term commitments at the top
– Talent flows through (universities are perfect)
• Core funding is hard to get!
¡Gracias por llamar!
Crop Genetic Resource Conservation