CARACTERIZACIÓN DE LOS PRODUCTORES DE MAÃZ DE TEMPORAL EN EL ESTADO DE CAMPECHE, MÉXICO

The maize with 154,480 ha, covers 74.41% of the total area sown to cyclic crops, this proportion is 99.4% making it a priority crop because of its economic impact on the sector. In recent years INIFAP has made various efforts for the technology transfer oriented to increased productivity of corn. In 2011 INIFAP estimated corn yield and identified key characteristics of farmer. Taking a population of 13,185 corn farmers who benefited with seed in 2010. It was estimated a sample size of 388 farmers with simple random sampling, with a confidence level of 95% and accuracy of Z α / 2 = 0.05. Questionnaires were administered and applied in ten of the eleven municipalities of the state, which were interwied in his plot corn yields measure their in the field. The most relevant results derived from the study indicate that 75.48% (9,952 farmers) planted with machinery and the remaining 24.52% (3,233 farmers) manually or spar. Most producers are adults aged 50 to 54 years, all literate with on average five years of studies and more than 27 years of experience in the production of corn. In terms of ethnic composition over half 57.87% were of Mayan descent, mestizos 23.37%, 13.50% of foreign origin (Guatemala) and 5.30% Mennonites. At planting prevailed in 62.50% of the farmers using hybrid seed, who obtained 4.6 ton ha-1, 18.99% planted some kind of variety and get 2.9 ton ha-1 and finally 26.68% used local varieties and get 2.4 ton ha-1 yield. The average farm size differed by region and type of tillage. The average area planted per farmer was higher in the northern and central region up to 10 hectares versus southern region with areas up to 3 hectares. In the northern and central sowing machinery was made in contrast to southern planting is usually done manually or spar. The activities usually performed by farmers for soil preparation are slashing and agricultural harrow, control applications made before the germination of corn and most fertilized with planting, it was made by a majority of farmers during the period June 11 to July 30, 2011.