ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE BACKYARD AND ITS RELATION TO FOOD SECURITY IN COMMUNITIES OF HIGH MARGINALIZATION IN PUEBLA, MEXICO

Abstract

Backyard agriculture is of great importance for food security of rural families that practice family agriculture, because it generates foods, savings and income. This research has the objective of valuing the products generated in the backyard and their relation with food security. The data were obtained by monitoring a statistical sample of rural households. The interviews were carried out from August to November 2014. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, X² (chi²), and a test of mean differences. The results indicated that the backyard generates 9.3 % of the family economic
income, and that it takes on higher importance in households where the main source of income are agricultural and livestock activities versus non-agricultural and livestock ones. A significant relation was found (p?0.05) between using the backyard productively and food insecurity and dietary poverty.