rural poverty in mexico

Enabling poor ruralpeople to overcomepoverty in MexicoRural poverty in Mexico

In rural areas of Mexico, 61 per cent of people were living beneath the national rural poverty line in 2010, according to World Bankdata. Given that the country’s rural population was estimated atabout 25 million, more than 15 million people in those areas wereliving in poverty.

In general, three factors determine poverty status in Mexico:

• Geographic area and proximity to urban centres – this proximity offers

opportunities for income diversification and the incidence of rural poverty is

highest in remote areas far from cities.

• Ethnicity – the poverty rate in indigenous communities is well above the rate for

the non-indigenous population.

• Gender – women head most single-parent households and face a lack of job

opportunities and access to productive resources.

The causes of rural poverty in Mexico are partly structural. Poverty arises from a

lack of access to basic services such as health, education, sanitation and housing –

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Eradicating rural poverty in Mexico The authorities in Mexico have worked over the years to build a legal framework for

lasting rural and social development.

The Sustainable Rural Development Act of 2001 and the Social Development Act of

2003 were adopted to promote equal opportunities and sustained poverty reduction.

Initiatives such as the 2003 National Rural Agreement, between major organizations

of farmers and producers, sought to improve productive capacity.

The National Development Plan 2007-2012 is guided by the principle of sustainable

human development and built on pillars that include achievement of a competitive

economy, equal opportunities for all and environmental sustainability. The plan

details a substantial agenda providing for goals in rural poverty reduction, improved

competitiveness, environmental management and institutional change.

Targeted social-protection initiatives, such as the ‘Oportunidades’ conditional cash

transfer and the Seguro Popular universal health insurance programmes, have helped

to mitigate the effects of poverty in the wake of the global financial crisis. In

addition, several national programmes emphasize social development, natural

resource management and poverty reduction among indigenous peoples and other

marginalized groups.

Meanwhile, Mexico has taken an international leadership role in climate-change

adaptation and mitigation, as the impacts of climate variability affect key sectors

providing sustenance and livelihoods for the population. In particular, lower

agricultural yields and insecure water supplies threaten the basic needs both of urban

residents and rural communities.

and to productive resources such as land, technology, knowledge and credit, which

would enable small farmers to improve their productivity and income.

The causes are also partly transitional, triggered by economic crises that have

hindered economic and social development. According to a report issued in February

2012 by the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy, or

CONEVAL, food price increases and the lack of long-term economic growth have

reduced household purchasing power and contributed to poverty in Mexico.

In addition, rural poverty reflects the income inequalities that prevail in the region.

For example, while Mexico’s GDP per capita is US$8,920, the average income of the

poorest 20 per cent of the rural population is US$456 per year.

Rural poverty in Mexico is concentrated in areas with large indigenous populations,

notably in the southern states. According to a Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung report,

75 per cent of indigenous people in the country were living below the poverty line

and 39 per cent were in extreme poverty in 2009. In Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero

States, extreme poverty affects more than half of the population.

The rural poverty rate dropped somewhat in the early 2000s due to a significant

increase in public and private transfers – mainly in the form of remittances – as well

as an expansion of rural non-farm employment and rural development programmes.

However, the rate went back up with the global economic crisis later in the decade.

Violence has also taken a toll on the country’s stability and development, with more

than 15,000 people killed in drug-related incidents in 2010.

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Faced with these challenges, however, Mexico still lacks federal legislation on climate

change. According to a 2011 report by IFAD and the International Development Law

Organization, several laws – including the National Water Act, Federal Law, Law of

Sustainable Rural Development, Land Law and General Law on Sustainable Rural

Development – should include climate criteria.

IFAD’s strategy in Mexico Since 1980, when IFAD began working in Mexico, it has approved nine loans and

grants totalling US$178.1 million for agricultural development projects there.

IFAD’s operations in Mexico have evolved over the decades. Beginning with strong

support for community empowerment, the projects it finances have placed increasing

emphasis on indigenous peoples – and particularly the participation of indigenous

rural women in productive activities.

Currently, IFAD focuses on improving income levels and employment in rural

communities in Mexico, with special attention to indigenous communities, small

farmers and members of the ejidos, or areas of communal land used for agriculture.

It also promotes and strengthens the capacity of grass-roots organizations to help

achieve sustainable, community-driven local development, and encourages the active

participation of rural women and indigenous people in social and economic

decision-making in their communities.

Projects: 9

Total cost: US$352.7 million

Total financing from IFAD: US$178.1 million

Directly benefiting: 130,405 households

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The strategic objectives in IFAD’s Country Strategic Opportunities Plan are based on

its implementation experience and mirror the objectives of Mexico’s National

Development Plan 2007-2012. These include contributing to:

• Generating sustainable income and permanent employment through the

government programmes in which IFAD participates, with a focus on the poorest

and most marginalized segments of the population.

• Increasing the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of public spending on IFAD-

supported activities that are being implemented within government programmes,

with an eye towards extending the reach of these initiatives.

• Strengthening capacities to learn from experience and build effective

methodologies for scaling up rural development strategies.

In line with these objectives, IFAD promotes measures that will increase crop yields

and livestock, and provide new markets for small-scale producers. IFAD also supports

microenterprise development projects, conservation of natural resources, linkages

with local markets and the use of new technologies and information resources to

benefit smallholder farmers.

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Rural Development Project in the Mixteca Region and the Mazahua Zone The objective of this project is to increase the income and employment of rural poor

and indigenous households in the Mixteca region, located within Guerrero, Oaxaca

and Puebla States, and the Mazahua zone, located in the State of Mexico. It

represents an investment in developing and consolidating pro-poor, small-producer

value chains by strengthening the social fabric of rural and indigenous communities.

The project has four main thrusts:

• Promoting the formation and development of grass-roots economic organizations.

• Developing social and entrepreneurial management capacities among a new cadre

of local leaders, including rural and indigenous women and young people.

• Supporting sustainable agricultural production through the rehabilitation and

sound management of natural resources, particularly access to water.

• Developing entrepreneurial linkages and rural microenterprises while facilitating

wider access to markets.

The project area comprises 50 priority municipalities that are home to most of

the Mixteca indigenous population and two municipalities where about

50,000 Mazahua indigenous people live. The target group consists mainly of

subsistence agricultural producers who cultivate communal lands, unorganized

small livestock producers, artisans with weak linkages to markets, and rural and

indigenous women and youth.

Mexico CityRural Development Project in the Mixteca Region and the Mazahua Zone

Community-Based Forestry Development in Southern States of Mexico

Sustainable Development Project for Rural and Indigenous Communities of the Semi-Arid North-West

Ongoing operations


IFAD loan: US$18.7 million

IFAD grant: US$2.0 million

Cofinancing: Spanish Food SecurityCofinancing Facility Trust Fund (U$US15 million), United Mexican States (US$7 million), beneficiaries(US$4.8 million)

Duration: 2012-2018


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Community-based Forestry Development Project in SouthernStates (Campeche, Chiapas and Oaxaca)The Community-based Forestry Development Project, aligned with the country’s

forestry policy, aims to improve the livelihoods and incomes of 18,000 households in

extremely poor forest communities in the southern Mexican states of Campeche,

Chiapas and Oaxaca. The project is being implemented by Mexico’s National Forestry

Commission (CONAFOR).

The aim is to strengthen, in cooperation with project beneficiaries, the capacity of

communities to better manage their natural resources, enhance conservation practices

such as increasing vegetation cover, and establish mechanisms to cope with the impact

of climate change.

More specifically, the project:

• Provides training on management and sustainable use of forests and plants.

• Strengthens community skills in organization and planning.

• Helps create profitable and sustainable timber and non-timber activities for

indigenous communities, women and other vulnerable groups who have limited

access to land.

• Strengthens CONAFOR’s capacity to reach poor rural families.



Cofinancing: Global EnvironmentalFacility (US$5.0 million)

Duration: 2011-2016


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Total cost: US$33 million

IFAD loan: US$25 million

Project type: Rural Development

Duration: 2006-2012


Sustainable Development Project for Rural and IndigenousCommunities of the Semi-Arid North-WestThis project addresses environmental conditions underlying the high incidence of

rural poverty in semi-arid north-western Mexico. Poverty in this area also stems from a

lack of access to land, the extreme fragmentation of holdings, the deterioration of

natural resources and limited access to productive resources.

The project works with rural communities, indigenous peoples and marginalized

smallholders in the four states selected to:

• Improve conservation of natural resources.

• Ensure greater community control over local assets, including land, agro-biodiversity

and the natural environment.

• Increase the productive capacity of the land through the use of improved production

technologies and conservation.

• Improve levels of income and employment through the promotion of rural and

nature-based tourism, and charges for provision of environmental services.

• Increase community participation in local development processes, with special

attention to the participation of women and youth.

This project is being carried out in close coordination with the Mexican Government’s

efforts for territorial development of the micro-regions, and specifically with the

National Micro-Watershed Programme (Programa Nacionál de Microcuencas).

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Building a poverty-free worldThe International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD) works with poorrural people to enable them to growand sell more food, increase theirincomes and determine the directionof their own lives. Since 1978, IFADhas invested almost US$14 billion ingrants and low-interest loans todeveloping countries through projectsempowering about 400 million peopleto break out of poverty, therebyhelping to create vibrant ruralcommunities. IFAD is an internationalfinancial institution and a specializedUN agency based in Rome – theUnited Nations’ food and agriculturehub. It is a unique partnership of 168 members from the Organizationof the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developingcountries and the Organisation forEconomic Co‑operation andDevelopment (OECD).

International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentVia Paolo di Dono, 44 00142 Rome, ItalyTel: +39 06 54591 Fax: +39 06 5043463E-mail: [email protected] www.ifad.org

April 2012

Enabling poor rural peopleto overcome poverty

Contact Enrique Murguia Country Programme ManagerIFADTel: +39 06 54592341Fax: +39 06 54593341E-mail: [email protected]

For further information on rural poverty inMexico, visit the Rural Poverty Portal:htpp://www.ruralpovertyportal.org

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Strengthening Project for the National Micro-watershed ProgrammeTotal cost: US$28.0 million


Cofinancing: Global Environmental Facility (US$4.0 million)

Duration: 2005-2010


Rural Development Project for Rubber-ProducingRegions of MexicoTotal cost: US$55.0 million

Approved IFAD loan: US$25.0 million

Duration: 2001-2009


Rural Development Projectof the Mayan Communitiesin the Yucatan PeninsulaTotal cost: US$17.2 million


Duration: 1997-2004


Completed operations

Rural Development Projectfor the IndigenousCommunities of the State of PueblaTotal cost: US$43.0 million


Duration: 1993-2000


Development Project forMarginal Rural Communitiesin the Ixtlera RegionTotal cost: US$53.3 million


Duration: 1991-2000


Oaxaca Rural Development ProjectTotal cost: US$57.2 million


Duration: 1980-1987


rural poverty in mexico

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