Field Research on Climate Change and Traditional Farming Systems in Mexico

20 September 2025, by Uwe Schneider

Photo: Lea Schröder

Since the end of June, FNK scientist Dr. Lea Schröder has been in Mexico for a four-month research stay as a Visiting Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). In collaboration with CIMMYT colleagues, she investigates how climate change affects the traditional Milpa farming system in southern Mexico.

As part of her field research, Lea recently visited communities on the Yucatán Peninsula and in Oaxaca to conduct interviews with farmers. These conversations help to understand which climatic changes Milpa producers have already observed and what impacts these have on their production. In the coming weeks, further interviews and focus group discussions are planned to identify possible strategies of adaptation.

The stay is embedded in the CLICCS-C2 project and builds on Lea’s doctoral research in Northeast India, where she studied the effects of climate change on the slash-and-burn farming system. Both systems share similarities as smallholder rotational systems that combine diverse crops and, in some cases, include elements of shifting cultivation.

CIMMYT has also published a Spanish article about Lea’s ongoing work, which can be found here: La milpa: conocimiento ancestral para enfrentar el cambio climático – CIMMYT.

Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT