 Large mechanized farms are now operating in some northwestern states (mainly in Sinaloa).However, privatization of "ejidos" continues to be very slow in the central and southern states where the great majority of peasants produce only for subsistence.Up until the 1980s, the government encouraged the production of basic crops (mainly corn and beans) by maintaining support prices and controlling imports through the "National Company for Popular Subsistence" (CONASUPO).