Farmer movement oversight of the Mexican Government's scaled-up fertilizer program

How can national policies to promote food self-sufficiency also enable agroecological transitions? Mexico’s recent agricultural policy priorities shifted from larger, irrigated farmers to focus mainly on rainfed smallholders. Recent national policies emphasize both food self-sufficiency and agroecological goals. Yet government funding for conventional agriculture also continued – including the national scaling up of a program that delivered free chemical fertilizer to smallholders. This study uses institutional analysis to analyze this program from the perspective of a state-wide farmer-led oversight campaign led by advocates of sustainable agriculture. Community-based policy monitoring combined with multi-level advocacy broadened access to the program and reduced corruption, while also calling for biofertilizer options and investment in soil health.