ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Land, Livelihoods and Food Security
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1641290
This article is part of the Research TopicIndigenous and Local Knowledge as a Catalyst for Sustainable Agriculture and Food SecurityView all 12 articles
ELABORATION OF AN INDEX OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
Provisionally accepted
Rafael García-Vázquez1
Marco Andrés López Santiago2*
Carlos de Jesús Morales-Becerril3Blanca Isabel Sánchez-Toledano4Sergio Ernesto Medina-Cuéllar5Andrés Aurelio López-Santiago3- 1Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo Division de Ciencias Economico Administrativas, Texcoco, Mexico
- 2Unidad Regional Universitaria de Zonas Áridas, Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Texcoco, Mexico
- 3Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Texcoco, Mexico
- 4Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agricolas y Pecuarias, Mexico City, Mexico
- 5Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
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This study addressed the need to design development strategies that leverage the endogenous resources of indigenous communities. The municipality of Filomeno Mata, Veracruz, Mexico, was selected as a case of study to validate the proposed methodology. The main objective was to develop an effective approach to regional development through the construction of two key indices: the Strategy Suitability Index for Regional Development (IIDR-GM) and the Strategy Adoption Index (IADR). A mixed-methods and multidisciplinary framework was employed, combining statistical analyses with qualitative tools. The methods included the Kruskal-Wallis test, goodness-of-fit tests, and the sign test for two paired samples with normal approximation. In parallel, a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted. The IIDR-GM and IADR proved to be effective tools for evaluating development strategies. These indices captured the level of acceptance of sustainable interventions tailored to local needs, based on endogenous natural resources and ancestral knowledge. The results demonstrated the feasibility of this model for promoting inclusive and sustainable regional development. However, certain limitations were identified, such as the heterogeneity of micro-regions, which may hinder comparisons across municipalities. These constraints highlight the need for further research to refine and expand this type of analysis. Thus, the present study represents a starting point for the design of regional development strategies that respect cultural diversity and foster sustainability.
Keywords: Regional Development, Regional strategies, Totonacs, strategy adoption index, strategy suitability index
Received: 04 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 García-Vázquez, López Santiago, Morales-Becerril, Sánchez-Toledano, Medina-Cuéllar and López-Santiago. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marco Andrés López Santiago, Unidad Regional Universitaria de Zonas Áridas, Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Texcoco, Mexico
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