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In many communities in Mexico, several races of maize are grown – often with a range of colour variants. These races and colour variants are conserved and selected as distinct entities with differing micro-environmental adaptations and uses. In addition there is variation between farmer-conserved samples within the same race and colour variant in each village. To improve the maize in a community, the existing diversity must be assessed and understood. Strategies employed in participatory breeding efforts in Mexico include (1) a three-step method developed by Fernando Castillo and students, (2) mass selection, (3) limited backcrossing and (4) family formation with farmer participatory selection. With the overarching goal of improving farming livelihoods while conserving diversity, the vision is holistic, incorporating participatory breeding with investigation of agronomic management, and connecting smallholder farmers to markets. Interest by professional chefs in authentic Mexican cuisine has opened avenues for connecting small farmers to markets that value diversity and culinary quality. Such a niche market for native maize grown by traditional methods has allowed sales of excess grain by subsistence farmers. Community-level collective organization is necessary to enable small-scale farmers to benefit from this development.

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