SUSTAINABILITY OF MAIZE CULTIVATION IN SOUTHERN VERACRUZ, MEXICO

<p class="Keywords"><strong>Background</strong>. Currently, sustainable management of production systems is the key to the development of agriculture in Mexico. <strong>Objective</strong>. To analyze the sustainability of agricultural practices carried out by maize producers in the ejido of San Bartolo, municipality of Acayucan, Veracruz, Mexico. <strong>Methodology</strong>. The analysis method of this research was mixed, and the instrument was the interview, the information was processed in the Dyane program, and the sustainability indicators were developed from three transversal axes (social, economic and productive). The data were analyzed using Spearman's R correlation. <strong>Results</strong>. The data showed low sustainability values in the three transversal axes (ranging from 25 to 35%), although the profitability was 1.05, which is very low. Likewise, the correlation analysis indicated that competitiveness may be compromised, since most of the income in the area corresponded to social support, without encouraging productivity, coupled with inefficient marketing channels. Lack of knowledge of technological packages for corn crop management leads to inadequate fertilization and incorrect use of agrochemicals, increasing production costs and affecting yield, crop profitability and the environment. <strong>Implications</strong>. In future research it would be prudent to expand the study to analyze the perspective of decision makers, in order to generate public policies in favor of economic and productive sustainability. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. The sustainability analysis indicated that the agricultural practices carried out by the producers of San Bartolo were very low in the productive (0.31), social (0.35) and economic (0.25) axes, therefore, it is recommended to increase performance through technical advice and the generation of sustainable and profitable production strategies.</p><p class="Keywords"> </p>