Third Edition 2nd Year / Second Stage July - December, 2006 ISSN 1814-0939 Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture BiotechnologyBiotechnology Biotecnología y andand biosafetybiosafety bioseguridad InstrumentsInstruments forfor achievingachieving Instrumentos para alcanzar la agriculturalagricultural competitivenesscompetitiveness competitividad agropecuaria A renewedrenewed IICAIICA Un IICA renovado forfor thethe newnew hemispherichemispheric ante la nueva dinámica dynamicdynamic onon thethe 2121stst CenturyCentury hemisférica del siglo XXI Perspectives Milky ways to territorial development Milk can go from being a simple resource to becoming an asset and “activating” a territory, through its transformation into quality products, thanks to the traditional know-how of organized local actors. François Boucher1 IICA, Mexico – CIRAD, France Milk is a social and economic instrument: governments consider it as a basic component of all social programs and producing it provides a livelihood for many families: dairy farmers, cheese-makers and traders, among others. Furthermore, given its importance in nutrition and the risks associated with its manipulation, it is one of the most tightly controlled agro-industries from the point of view of health. Depending on the final product offered to consumers, milk chains are constituted by very diverse stakeholders: cattle farmers of very different scales, ranging from smallholders to large ranchers with thousands of head of cattle) are mainly concentrated in river basins, but also in specialized territories linked to markets. The technologies employed are also very varied, t a time when we are searching ranging from rudimentary methods (manual for alternatives to help rural milking in the field and manufacture of fresh curd areas face the challenges cheese “at the foot of the cow”) to the most globalization and the ambiguous sophisticated techniques (mechanized and results of the structural reforms computerized milking). implemented in the 1980s and 1990s, several successful case In relation to the territory, and according to its A studies show that milk can origin and destination, milk may be considered as become a valuable tool for development in many a generic product or as a specific and/or territorial countries of the Americas. product. As a specific resource and a territorial 1 Cirad, UR Qualités et territoires, Montpellier, F-34000 France; IICA ( Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture), Mexico Office; Sup’ Agro-Cirad-Inra, UMR951 “Innovation”, Montpellier, F-34000 France. [email protected]. The author wishes to thank M. Blanco, B. Miranda, F. Cervantes and I. Salas for their collaboration in the preparation of this document, which was presented at the Ninth Pan American Milk Congress, Porto Alegre, Brazil, June 20-23, 2006. Seventh Edition, Second Stage, July - December, 2006 ISSN 1814-0939 26 It is important to address local sectoral protection and the economic synergies between the public and private sectors converge development issues and the with calls for sustainable development, food territorial organization of rural security and the eradication of poverty. activities, and at the same time Articulating all these principles is no easy task. In this uncertain context the demands increase, articulate local and territorial leading us to the following conclusions: initiatives with other social, It is necessary to consider domestic consumption economic and political spaces. as a way to reduce malnutrition and the growing impoverishment of rural societies, and at the same time concern ourselves with being asset, its consistency, quality and characteristics will competitive in the export markets; be intimately linked with the production zones: the territory and its “know-how” will be conditioned by It is important to address local development issues the actors who live there. Thus, an initial link is and the territorial organization of rural activities, established between product-territory-stakeholders, and at the same time articulate local and territorial which is key in a development strategy. initiatives with other social, economic and political spaces; This article will focus on the linkages between territory, regional development and product, in a pragmatic It is necessary to respond to the new way, through an analysis of four case studies in Latin environmental challenges and comply with the America, where the relationship between milk requirements of new international quality production and territory is central, and contributes to standards, and at the same time design strategies regional development. Analysis of these cases will to train producers and add value to local resources enable us to consider the lessons learnt, in order to (products, know-how, businesses, institutions, conclude with some strategic proposals. among others) in order to encourage innovation processes that respond to this new context. The cases studied use the approaches of the Localized Agrifood System (LAS)2 and the “activation of It is also increasingly important to find territorial resources (Boucher, 2004). These “homegrown” solutions to this dilemma; approaches make it possible to assess and establish replicating or applying existing models and strategies to strengthen geographic clusters or prescriptions does not appear to be the answer. concentrations of rural agro-industries (RAI), as in the Retrieving and documenting the solutions that case of the cheese factories described in this article. campesinos and other stakeholders are developing in different contexts will undoubtedly provide some key elements. I. Case studies Bearing in mind the above, we present four cases related to the Latin American dairy sector that The development of agrifood systems and the rural may provide lessons on ways to add value to world is currently taking place in a complex resources within a territory as focal points for scenario in which multilateral trade relations, development. 2 Localized Agrifood Systems (LAS): “systems made up of production and service structures (agricultural units, agribusinesses, business enterprises, restaurants, etc.) that are associated with a specific territory due to their characteristics or operation. The milieu, the products, the people, their institutions, their know-how, their food habits, their network of relations are combined, within a specific territory, to produce a system of agrifood organization in a given area”. (Muchnik, Sautier, 1998, p.4) 27 Seventh Edition, Second Stage, July - December, 2006 ISSN 1814-0939 The cheeses are cylindrical in shape and measure 40 cm in diameter. Demand currently exceeds the supply, for which reason the price is relatively high. Producers can sell a kilo for 75 or 80 pesos (2005 figures) - equivalent to 7.5 pesos per liter of milk paid to the producer - when the price varies between 2.4 and 3.4 pesos (10.5 Mexican pesos are equivalent to one US dollar). These prices explain why farmers in the nearby basins produce a cheese that is sold under the name of Cotija, taking advantage of its Mexico’s Cotija cheese: reputation. From collective trademark The main distribution channel for the cheese is to denomination of origin3 through Mexican migrants in the United States (80%). Buyers visit the two or three stores located Cotija cheese (from Mexico) is produced in a region in the town of Cotija or obtain it through located at an altitude of 700-1800 meters above sea intermediaries. It is also sold in the markets of level (masl), with an average rainfall of 900mm, cities such as Guadalajara, Morelia and Monterrey. which falls from July to October. This allows the region to enjoy a temperate climate during the There are 92 producers in the area, grouped in the summer, with temperatures no higher than 25°C, Regional Association of Producers of Cotija and a relative humidity that never falls below 80%. Cheese. This association was founded in 1998, These conditions favor milk production during the when some researchers offered to help producers rainy season, together with the manufacture of improve the quality of their cheeses and obtain a cheese, both because of the quality of milk, which is denomination of origin. The project began with rich in fat, and because of the climatic conditions five producers, but soon all the farmers in the area necessary for its maturation. joined in. They hoped to obtain a denomination of origin to protect their product and its reputation, Cotija cheese takes its name from the town where and also to open up new markets. it is sold. It is made in isolated farms or ranchos in the mountains of the Sierra de Jalmich, an area Due to the geographical conditions, it has been that can be reached after a 3 to 5 hour journey difficult for these producers to organize themselves from Cotija in a four-wheel drive vehicle. The and communicate with each other. These cheese-making process begins with the production problems are caused by the remoteness of the of good-quality highland milk. To make a piece of farms and the poor road infrastructure, which Cotija cheese requires 20-22 kilos or 200 lt. of means that the group meets only two or milk, equivalent an average day’s milk production three times a year. The association’s main by a dairy farming family. Farmers use natural and achievements are: improved highland pastures as well as a system of extensive ranching (5 hectares per cow). Average The creation of the Cotija Cheese Fair, which annual production, which is seasonal (from July to is