U.S. Agency for International Development—Training, Internship, Exchanges, and Scholarship (TIES) Program Phase I, administered by Higher Education for Development (HED) in Washington, DC

Graduate student training is a large component of this TIES project. Early in the project, the Universidad Veracruzana and the University of Georgia concluded that the TIES graduate students should concentrate their research on agricultural diversification of marginal coffee farms in the elevations below 600 meters in elevation.

The government in Veracruz State needed to concentrate resources on finding a solution to the poverty of the small-scale farmers who had suffered from the decline in coffee prices in the late 1990s. The government has responded with a diversification program in Veracruz to eliminate dependence on coffee with a low rate of return in areas under 600 meters (nearly 1,800 feet) above sea level. Diversification is a long-established risk management tool in agriculture.

Katia Romero Leon explains issues and socio-economic data surrounding small-scale farms in Zozocolco de Hidalgo 10th Annual Conference of the Americas.

Katia Romero Leon emphasizes the resource limitations of the small-scale coffee farmers in Zozocolco.

Ms. Katia Romero Leon selected the potential for agricultural diversification opportunities to support small farm family incomes for her Masters thesis. The success of the diversification project depends upon identifying alternative economic enterprises, including processing, stimulating farmer organization and leadership formation, and strengthening rural education. Her research focuses on the economic opportunities in the marginal coffee growing regions in Veracruz, specifically Zozocolco de Hidalgo, especially an indigenous municipality located in the Totonaca region of the state.

Katia focused her research on an analysis of the socio-economic characteristics of the marginal coffee farmers in Zozocolco. She obtained survey data from Diprocafe, a component of the overall UV and government strategy to find alternatives to coffee growing in Zozocolco. She also obtained data from the Center for Tropical Research (CITRO) in Xalapa. She selected a sample of 76 farm households for analysis from the Diprocafe's larger survey of 226 farm households.

SEE ALSO
	• TIES Phase I • TIES Phase II

Katia presented the preliminary results of her thesis research titled "Diversification of Marginal Coffee Farms in Veracruz, Mexico: an Analysis of Socio-economic Characteristics of Small Farms in Zozocolco" at the 10th Annual Conference of the Americas at Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah, Ga., on February 10, 2007 with members of her graduate committee, Dr. Jack E. Houston, Dr. Lewell F. Gunter, and Dr. Glenn Ames.

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Higher Education for Development (HED) office. The contents are the responsibility of Glenn C.W. Ames, TIES Partnership Director at the University of Georgia, and do not necessarily reflect the views of HED, USAID or the United States Government.

Katia Romero Leon shares a light moment after her presentation with her committee.

Katia could not leave Savannah, Ga., without visiting the historic district along Bay Street.