Adoption of good practices in honey production in Yucatan, Mexico

The honey production in Mexico is a relevant activity of the livestock subsector, due to the generation of jobs and income in the agricultural sector, as well as its contribution of foreign exchange. In the period from 2005 to 2015 the average annual production was 58 thousand tons, which fluctuated between 55 and 62 thousand tons. This has placed Mexico as the eighth largest producer in the world and the third exporting country. The analysis of the performance of three agroindustries (AI) and the adoption level of good practices of honey production (BPPM, in Spanish) in 450 beekeepers in the state of Yucatan, before and after receiving technical advice and training through a management model of innovation. The information was collected between September 2013 (baseline survey) and March 2014 (final line survey). With a catalogue of 25 BPPM, an adoption index of good honey production practices (IABPPM, in Spanish) was established and its adoption rate (TABPPM, in Spanish). The results indicate that the AI are distinguished in their operation by aspects such as: size, raw material supply and production destination. The change in the IABPPM between the baseline and final line was positive (P<0.01), both overall and by the seven categories of the index. The increases in TABPPM were higher in those practices with low initial adoption, compared to those that already had high adoption rates from the beginning. Future research should be oriented to study and analyse which other factors help to explain the adoption of BPPM, beyond the agricultural extension model implemented.