By: Marte Vega Román, President of CAADES
With a positive expectation, last Saturday, September 21, the main agricultural leaders, livestock and irrigation modules with Julio Berdeguenext Secretary of Agriculture of the new Federal Government, as well as with Ismael BelloSecretary of Agriculture of the Government of State and Jesus Enrique VazquezDirector of Hydro-agricultural Infrastructure of the North Pacific Basin Organization of CONAGUAto exchange opinions in relation to the current problems of the sector and its possible solutions, this being an important opportunity to take stock of the current situation and the perspectives for the new cycle.
Among the issues that were highlighted, is that of water, its current availability and efficient use, another very recurring concern is that of the low prices of water. grainmostly corn, sorghum and wheat and its commercialization, as well as health issues and the need to more intensely promote research and development of new technologies, especially for sustainable agriculture, it was also requested to strengthen FIRA in its guarantee fund schemes due to the absence of National Financial Institution, our concerns were also expressed about the review of the T-MEC in 2026 and of course the issue of food sovereignty was also discussed.
To start with a diagnosis of the current situation, I consider it important to mention the figures updated by the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group, which highlights the low momentum in food production in this six-year period.
Despite the fact that we have a surplus in the agri-food trade balance, due to the extraordinary development that beer, tequila and fruit and vegetable exports have had, this sector is the third most important source of foreign exchange at the national level. The other side of the coin is that we are importing a much larger quantity of other foods, for example, we import 56 percent of the requirements for basic grains and oilseeds, all of this is explained by the lack of programs aimed at commercial agriculture, in where producers of all sizes participate, added to the drought phenomena of the last two years.
On behalf of the next Secretary of Agriculture, who has already well identified the problem described above and the strategic role that Sinaloa plays as Mexico’s breadbasket and main producer of vegetables, which are key precisely to improving the country’s food security, he made the commitment to jointly define with the participating organizations the support schemes for marketing to give certainty to producers, and also committed to strengthening value chains, promoting technological innovation and promoting sustainable agriculture and creating a unity within the Ministry of Agriculture to address the issue of water, which will support the water plan of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
CAADES and the producer organizations, we will continue working in coordination with the State and Federal Government to specify these commitments that will surely have to be reflected in the budget for the 2025 countryside, which will be presented to Congress by the new Federal Government on the 15th. November.
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