Panorama of coffee cultivation in the south of the State of Mexico.

A financially viable alternative for families

Abstract

Mexico ranks eighth in the world's coffee production, mainly concentrated in the south-central region of the country. The states with the highest production are Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla, Hidalgo Morelos and the State of Mexico. Additionally, the State of Mexico occupies one of the first places in agricultural production in the country, with approximately 772,151 hectares available for planting. Among the crops with the greatest impact are corn, prickly pear, oats, avocado and flowers. Additionally, little by little, the option of planting high-altitude coffee has been growing in the south of the state, so called because it is harvested at more than 1400 meters above sea level, unlike the coffee of Veracruz and other states that is grown at less than a thousand meters. In 2011, the cooperative of coffee producers was formed in the municipalities of Amatepec, Tlatlaya, Almoloya de Alquisiras and Sultepec with 53 small producers. Current figures for 2023 indicate that in the municipality of Amatepec there are approximately 300 small producers who sell directly to the final consumer without the need for intermediaries. The possibility of producing and selling directly supports families in the region with direct income, reducing migration and generating employment opportunities for inhabitants of the same region, since currently talking about the migration of the rural population to the cities or to the United States is unfortunately a normal factor in certain regions. whose rates have made Mexico the main exporter of labor. With this exploratory and descriptive work, we offer an overview of the situation of coffee producers in the south of the State of Mexico and analyze the financial feasibility to provide alternative solutions that promote the integration of rural families and communities.