TY - EJOUR AB - Conventional methods were used to assess the benefits and costs of an unconventional project whose purpose was to test whether participatory crop improvement can encourage Mexican farmers to continue growing maize landraces by enhancing their current use value. Findings suggest that farmers as a group earned a high benefit-cost ratio from participating, though from the perspective of the private investor the returns were low. The project also generated social benefits, but these would be difficult (and costly) to measure. There was a gender bias in both participation and benefits distributions, though there is some evidence of a welfare transfer to maize deficit households. Application of other valuation approaches will be necessary in order to assess both the private and social benefits of similar projects. © 2003 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. AU - Smale, M. AU - Bellon, Mauricio R. AU - Aguirre, J.A. AU - Rosas, I. Manuel AU - Mendoza, Jorge AU - Solano, A.M. AU - Martinez, R. AU - Ramirez, A. AU - Berthaud, Julien DA - 2003-12 DA - 2003-12 DO - 10.22004/ag.econ.178082 DO - doi EP - 275 EP - 265 ID - 178082 IS - 3 JF - Agricultural Economics: The Journal of the International Association of Agricultural Economists KW - Crop Production/Industries KW - Production Economics KW - Maize KW - On-farm conservation KW - Participatory plant breeding KW - Costs and benefits KW - Mexico L1 - https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/178082/files/agec2003v029i003a005.pdf L2 - https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/178082/files/agec2003v029i003a005.pdf L4 - https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/178082/files/agec2003v029i003a005.pdf LA - eng LA - English LK - https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/178082/files/agec2003v029i003a005.pdf N2 - Conventional methods were used to assess the benefits and costs of an unconventional project whose purpose was to test whether participatory crop improvement can encourage Mexican farmers to continue growing maize landraces by enhancing their current use value. Findings suggest that farmers as a group earned a high benefit-cost ratio from participating, though from the perspective of the private investor the returns were low. The project also generated social benefits, but these would be difficult (and costly) to measure. There was a gender bias in both participation and benefits distributions, though there is some evidence of a welfare transfer to maize deficit households. Application of other valuation approaches will be necessary in order to assess both the private and social benefits of similar projects. © 2003 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. PY - 2003-12 PY - 2003-12 SP - 265 T1 - The economic costs and benefits of a participatory project to conserve maize landraces on farms in Oaxaca, Mexico* TI - The economic costs and benefits of a participatory project to conserve maize landraces on farms in Oaxaca, Mexico* UR - https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/178082/files/agec2003v029i003a005.pdf VL - 29 Y1 - 2003-12 T2 - Agricultural Economics: The Journal of the International Association of Agricultural Economists ER -