ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks solutions to Mexico's international migration problem in agricultural export markets. It begins with the assumption that the primary cause of migration to the United States is rural underdevelopment, manifested chiefly by a lack of employment and low income levels. Reliance on export agriculture is inescapable, for the level of interdependence and international integration is rising as a result of worldwide market restructuring. The chapter explores two basic factors: the potential for domestic production in its socioeconomic and agronomic dimensions, and the potential for exports. It discusses the possibility of increasing agricultural export production to supplement rural employment and generate foreign exchange for the national economy. Mexico is in the throes of a severe economic crisis, characterized by an inflationary process, truly feeble economic growth and an increasing shortage of resources with which to stimulate such growth. Linear programming was used to identify feasible crop combinations for reorienting agricultural production patterns as well as alternative uses of resources.
