La Asociación Nacional de Empresas Comercializadoras de Productores del Campo (ANEC) was founded in 1995 in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). ANEC  offers member farmers, a diverse array of small and medium commercial grain farmers from 17 different Mexican states. Initially, ANEC assisted in the formation or strengthening of local farmer enterprises, helping farmers get politically and economically organized. ANEC’s staff have for long advised farmers on their commercial endeavours, accompanied farmers in negotiating better contracts and increasing their share of the value chain. Over the years, ANEC has expanded its program, starting a micro-credit program and developing its own crop-insurance product while also advocating for changes in regional and national agrarian policies. In response to growing economic and ecological concerns with costs of inputs and effects of pesticides, ANEC has developed an agroecological approach to farming adapted to the realities of Mexico’s food system and the needs of its member farmers.

through the collaboration of allied scientists and researchers, interdisciplinary staff and innovative member farmers, ANEC developed an agroecological approach to farming called Agricultura de Conocimientos Intregrados (Agriculture of Integrated Knowledge)/Manejo de Cultivos Inducidos (Management of Resilient Crops) (ACCI/MICI).