The Implicit Grower: Gender Bias and Grower Heterogeneity in Sugarcane Research and Extension Systems

Abstract

This study examines the institutional construction of the implicit grower—defined as a young, well-resourced, male operator—within sugarcane research and extension systems and analyzes how this biased design impacts technology adoption efficiency and sectoral performance. A qualitative multi-method research design was employed, combining a historical documentary analysis of the Mexican sugarcane research system (1949–1991), an international comparative review of five leading research centers, and ethnographic evidence from three women growers in Veracruz, Mexico. The analysis adopted an intersectional lens to examine structural exclusion across social, cognitive, and economic dimensions. Findings demonstrate that the implicit grower profile is not a historical relic but a persistent structural pattern in contemporary innovation systems. Most reviewed centers show an absence of extension programs specifically designed for women, elderly growers, or resource-constrained smallholders. While industry standards such as the Bonsucro Production Standard establish gender thresholds for management, these benchmarks do not extend to the intersectional heterogeneity of the producer base. Consequently, low technology adoption is identified not as an individual failure but as a rational response to an institutional choice architecture misaligned with real-world users. The study concludes that diversifying research teams is a functional prerequisite for generating innovation agendas that account for complex power dynamics, and that shifting to a user-based development perspective is essential for achieving sectoral sustainability.