Antonio Turrent Fernández, 75, is a senior researcher with Mexico’s government-run National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (Inifap) and president of the non-governmental Union of Scientists Committed to Society. With a doctorate from Iowa State University, Turrent began his career advancing the Green Revolution in Mexico, working to raise yields. But his research led him to absorb the point of view of small farmers, and he defends the traditional practices they’ve used to create Mexico’s vast variety of corn. Turrent opposes the introduction of transgenic corn seeds, which he says offer few benefits in Mexico’s case, and present many risks. He believes it’s possible to raise the nation’s corn output through improved management and investment in irrigation—enough so, he says, to make the country self-sufficient in corn and keep poor farmers from abandoning their land. Turrent spoke recently in Mexico City with EcoAméricas correspondent Elisabeth Malkin. [Log in to read more]

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