Agriculture and non-agricultural activities in the income strategies of family farming

Objective: To identify agricultural and non-agricultural income strategies of family farming in the Puebla Valley. Design/Methodology/Approach: A case study was conducted in the community of Tlaltenango, with family farming as the unit of study. A qualitative and quantitative approach was used, involving semi-structured interviews with farmers and an opinion-based survey of 72 family farming units. The resulting data were processed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS v.23). A typology of family farming was determined based on the data, considering the percentage of agricultural and livestock income as a classification criterion to identify income strategies. Results: Two categories of family farming were identified as income strategies. The first category includes 41.7% of family units, with an average agricultural income of 34%. The second category encompasses 58.3% of family units, where agricultural income accounts for 70.3%. Study Limitations/Implications: Since this research is a case study, the results and conclusions are framed within a regional context, distinguishing themselves from the agricultural dynamics of other areas and regions. Findings/Conclusions: The persistence and importance of agriculture and livestock as the main source of income in family farming is a significant proof, challenging the notion of the technical and economic unviability of small-scale production.