Reexamining the Yucatán Milpa and its Role in Combating Food Insecurity

Academics and farmers gathered at Mérida’s Gran Museo del Mundo Maya this week to discuss how the ancient milpa system can address modern food security challenges.

The event, “Mayan Corn as Biocultural Heritage for Future Generations,” brought together women from small villages, researchers from the Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida and Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, and food producers. The October 9 conversation centered on preserving the traditional agricultural system while expanding its role in feeding communities across the Yucatán Peninsula.

Graciela Rodríguez Ku, who promotes sustainable agriculture through milpa practices, called the system a vital source of nutrition tied to indigenous identity. She shared that her father lived past 100 in good health thanks to a milpa-based diet.

“For many Yucatecan women, the milpa represents knowledge passed down through generations,” Rodríguez Ku said. “It’s food we should promote and share.”

The milpa is a polyculture system that grows corn, beans, and squash together on the same plot. The three crops create what agronomists call nutritional synergy. Corn lacks certain amino acids that beans provide, while squash offers vitamins and helps retain soil moisture.

This farming method sustained the Maya civilization for over 3,500 years. In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization recognized the system as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, placing it alongside only 66 other agricultural models worldwide.

Researcher Silvia Terán y Contreras from Yucatán’s Directorate of Heritage and Dr. José Francisco Sarmiento Franco from the Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida highlighted the system’s international recognition at the forum. Both emphasized how the milpa model provides sustainable food production for Peninsula families while preserving biodiversity.

“The milpa is much more than an agricultural practice,” said Patricia Martín Briceño, head of Yucatán’s Secretariat of Culture and Arts. “It’s a way of understanding the world and expressing the balance between people and nature.”

The event included participation from Carlos Ayuso Vera, mayor of Muna, who brought producers from his municipality to share their experiences managing milpas.

The traditional system faces pressures from climate change and industrial agriculture. Rainfall patterns have become less predictable across the Peninsula, making it harder for farmers to time their planting seasons. Some communities have begun adapting the milpa with improved soil management and rainwater irrigation systems while maintaining its core principles.

The Academic Network of the Mayan Milpa Ich-ko’ol, which co-organized the event with the state cultural agency, has been documenting and promoting the agricultural system across Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. The network works with more than 600 farmers to preserve cultivation techniques and seed varieties.

Beyond corn, beans, and squash, milpas often include chile peppers, tomatoes, amaranth, and medicinal plants. Many farmers also keep bees for honey production and small livestock, creating an integrated system that provides multiple income sources and food options for rural families.

The designation as a heritage system puts the Yucatán milpa in the same category as Mexico City’s chinampas — the floating gardens that have fed the capital for centuries. Only one other Mexican agricultural system holds this status.