Coffee in Mexico: International market, agricultural landscape and ecology

The amount of energy and land devoted to the production of export crops in developing countries is associated with the economic behavior of the commodity in the international market. Stable increments in the international price of cash crops are expected to drive farmers and agricultural institutions in producing countries to increase production and yields of export crops. The increase in crop production, which can take place by incorporating new land into agricultural production and/or by introducing technological innovations to increase yield, may in turn affect the regional landscape and ecology. The present study examines the effects of the international coffee price during the 1970s and 1980s upon the regional landscape and coffee farm ecology of Mexico's coffee regions. The effects upon the landscape and ecology of coffee production in Mexico are discussed within the framework of the debate on trade and environment.