ABSTRACT
The agri-food system depends on global variations such as economic changes that generate insecurity or food shortfall, in addition to the current health emergency that mainly affects small producers in rural areas. This work reviews the conditions of rural producers of Xochimilco in Mexico City and proposes a structure that promotes the viability of the agri-food system. The study was carried out in two stages, the ethnographic method was first used and, then from the Systemic Approach, the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) in complementarity with Viable System Model (VSM) was applied to contextualize the effects of the current health emergency in this area. The results show that these communities are facing the pandemic from their limited capacities, so mechanisms and organizational structures are needed to make food systems robust to meet the challenges that their environment presents. It is proposed that the necessary linkage should be based on systemic models capable of managing the complexity of rural systems, such as the joint use of SSM and VSM, which through its systemic functions process environmental complexity and improve adaptation to the environment to ensure their survival.