The United Nations declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming. Although many forms of production were once family-based, agriculture is now one of the few that are still dominated by families.

"A “supermarket revolution” has been underway in developing countries since the early 1990s.

The global agricultural economy is changing. Commodity prices are declining, and producers increasingly supply complex value chains. There is growing interest in how farmers can benefit from emerging market opportunities.

Maize, the second most globally important staple crop after wheat, originated in Mexico, where it is typically grown as part of a set of associated crops and practices called the milpa system.

"This project explored the possible role of collective action among small-scale farmers in managing and maintaining genetic resources in a center of crop diversity.