The transition of agriculture towards sustainability faces significant obstacles, such as increased demand for food, food insecurity, climate variability, biodiversity loss, and food waste, among others. Moreover, agricultural activities must address ethical practices within sustainable development. The literature frequently mentions two approaches to meet these challenges: agroecology and sustainable agriculture. This study aims to delineate the conceptual boundaries of agroecology and sustainable agriculture while elucidating their interconnection. It seeks to clarify the scope and limitations inherent in these agricultural practices, which is critical given the centrality of sustainable agriculture in agrarian studies. By establishing these boundaries, the research outlines the methodologies to identify the relevant variables and indicators required for effective stakeholder engagement within agricultural systems. A systematic literature review was conducted using the PRISMA method. The databases searched were Science Direct, Scopus, Nature, and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria were (i) written in English or Spanish, (ii) published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, and (iii) related to the conceptualization of agroecology and sustainable agriculture. Publications were selected following the method’s identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion guidelines. The main distinctions between the concepts are the scale and the scope. Agroecology reveals limitations to achieving impacts on food security and agriculture’s challenges in a large-scale system better suited for rural communities and small farms seeking locally adapted solutions. On the other hand, the literature reveals that it is crucial to adopt a multi-scale systems approach to meet the growing food demands of the global population, for which sustainable agriculture may be more effective.

El estudio buscó hacer un diagnóstico del nivel de sustentabilidad de las organizaciones de uva de mesa del estado de Sonora, México; a través de la contrastación entre el cumplimiento de los criterios de las certificaciones incorporadas por las organizaciones y el índice teórico de sustentabilidad corporativa. El instrumento de recolección de datos se basó en una entrevista semiestructurada. La población fue de 33 organizaciones. Se obtuvo una muestra de once organizaciones. Los sujetos de estudio fueron los gerentes generales. Se utilizó la técnica de análisis de contenido para las entrevistas, el índice de sustentabilidad y los criterios de las certificaciones. Los resultados mostraron que, la mayoría de las organizaciones se ubican en un nivel medio- alto de sustentabilidad corporativa gracias a la incorporación de certificaciones que abarcan aspectos del desarrollo sustentable, lo que ha sido decisivo en su tránsito a conformarse como organizaciones sustentables.

Organizations adapt to emerging conditions defined by the market and consumers. The current consumption landscape is complex; however, it can be understood by studying sustainable development and management change for the transition toward sustainability. This study analyzes how the attributes of management change in agricultural organizations exporting table grapes in Sonora, México, relate to their progress toward sustainability. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 11 companies selected from a population of 33 and RStudio was used to obtain correlations and perform the corresponding statistical analyses. The results reveal a scarcity of literature linking management change with the transition of agricultural organizations toward sustainability and demonstrate a direct and positive relationship between management change and the level of sustainability. The findings emphasize that effective management of management change is essential for companies to internalize and maintain sustainable practices.

Grain storage is vital for a country within a framework of food sovereignty and security. It helps stabilize markets, prices, and imbalances between supply and demand. In Mexico, public storage infrastructure is almost nonexistent, having been transferred to the private sector. The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between public storage infrastructure and distribution problems that maize producers face in Mexico. A mixed-methods analysis procedure was implemented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with small, medium, and large distributors, selected using the snowball sampling technique. The analysis identifies a positive association between references to storage infrastructure and distribution problems in the interview materials. Additionally, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was applied to the counts to strengthen the analysis. The results indicated a positive and significant relationship between the variables “storage infrastructure” and “distribution problems”, but also that, around the latter, there are others: lack of government support, price fixing, guaranteed price, insecurity, production costs, and inconveniences that require attention to stabilize the maize market. Inadequate infrastructure limits storage capacity, affects grain quality, increases costs, reduces producers’ bargaining power, and contributes to price volatility. It also impacts logistics, transportation, and marketing, especially in less developed regions. Evidence suggests that public storage infrastructure is a strategic element for food security; however, its concentration and predominantly private nature generate territorial inequalities.

The research seeks to analyze quality management strategies as organizational innovation practices incorporated by table grape-producing organizations and their relationship with competitiveness. The data was obtained by elaborating a semi-structured interview script, which was applied to the managers or responsible people of the Sonoran table grape-producing organizations. The results allow us to recognize the main innovations organizations incorporate, specifically those related to organizational innovation. It was concluded that quality and organizational innovation are considered essential practices to generate competitive advantages in organizations since they generate knowledge, learning, and skills that drive decision-making aimed at business success.

Purpose: The article analyzes the relationship between technological change and sustainability in table grape-producing organizations in the state of Sonora, Mexico, to provide evidence regarding the association between technology adoption and sustainable performance in specialized agricultural systems. Methodological design: A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted. The population consisted of 33 organizations, and the sample comprised 11 of them. Data were collected through interviews with managers responsible for decision-making. Technological change was assessed using an index constructed from five dimensions weighted via expert judgment, while sustainability was measured using an index based on agricultural certifications. The analysis included Kendall's Tau correlation and k-means cluster analysis. Results: A moderate positive association was identified between technological change and sustainability, although it was not statistically significant. Additionally, three organizational typologies were distinguished, characterized by high, intermediate, and lagging levels of technological change and sustainability. Limitations of the research: The study was limited to the accessible universe of organizations analyzed. The sample size and type limit the inferential scope of the results, while the cross-sectional design precludes establishing causal relationships. Furthermore, the measurement of technological change was based on managerial perceptions. Findings: The study provides empirical evidence regarding the relationship between technological change and sustainability and identifies organizational typologies that can guide differentiated strategies for organizational strengthening and future research in agrifood systems.