The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the government of Campeche began work to strengthen the agricultural, livestock, aquaculture and fishing sectors of the state in the short and medium term, increase productivity and move towards food security for the state and the country, with sovereignty.
The head of the federal agency, Víctor Villalobos Arámbula, presented to Governor Layda Sansores San Román the model called Agromatriz, which will enrich the Plan for Agriculture in the State of Campeche 2021-2027 that, in a coordinated manner, combines support and public goods and services from federal structures with those of the state government.
He highlighted the synergy and exemplary collaboration that exists between the federal and state governments, to meet the objectives of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to rescue the countryside from historical abandonment and feed those who feed us.
In particular, he said, better agricultural planning by zones and strategic crops is foreseen, with high productivity schemes and crop reconversion where necessary.
In addition, actions will be implemented for the responsible management of soil and water resources, irrigation technification, strengthening of productive chains with financing and better balance between agribusiness and producers, as well as the adoption of innovation, technology and public-private alliances, he noted.
Secretary Villalobos Arámbula said that through consensus actions, a work plan is generated that can be evaluated and measured in its operation process, as well as defining priority issues in the entity, in accordance with the Agriculture sector program and the State Government Plan.
The objective, she said, is to reinforce actions to rescue the countryside of Campeche and achieve the development of a more productive, sustainable and inclusive agriculture, which will have an impact on better income for producers, especially small-scale producers, as well as reduce the water footprint and provide greater value per ton of food produced.
Governor Layda Sansores San Roman applauded the federal support. It is the first exercise we have seen of a ministry coming to the state to articulate this effort to join forces, to know what is happening and work with the entity, because each state is different, she said.
She added that, through these meetings, the Federation and Campeche are building a new work model focused on boosting the productive development of small-scale producers.
The general coordinator of Agriculture, Santiago Arguello Campos, highlighted that the state registers an area of 366,984 hectares planted, with two million 465,589 tons of agri-food products, with a value of 12,662 million pesos in 2021.
So far this administration has increased the harvested area by 3.0 percent and, even better, average crop yields have increased by 17 percent, he said.
The main crops grown in the state are corn, soybean, African palm or oil palm, chihua or seed pumpkin, grain sorghum, sugar cane, rice palay, lemon, orange and green chili, he said.
He mentioned that of the 94 thousand people dedicated to the agri-food sector in the state, 51.06 percent (48 thousand) are agricultural producers, 19.14 percent (18 thousand) belong to the livestock sector, 15.95 percent (15 thousand) to the agro-industrial sector, 13.82 percent (13 thousand) to fishing and the rest to other activities.
Mr. Arguello Campos pointed out that the support provided by the Ministry of Agriculture to the entity last year totaled 351 million 413 thousand 860 pesos, benefiting 38 thousand 167 small and medium-sized producers and 92 thousand 188 hectares.
He pointed out that Bienpesca supported 7,382 fishermen with 53 million 150 thousand 400 pesos, the Special Program of Electric Energy for Agricultural Use (PEUA) benefited 980 producers with 36 million 950 thousand pesos, the actions of health and innocuousness totaled 55 million 375 thousand 800 pesos and the strategic project of attention to the agricultural drought supported 728 producers with 5 million 388 thousand 060 pesos, among others.
The chief director of the National Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica), Francisco Calderón Elizalde, highlighted the importance of working as a team in programs and actions for the prevention, control and eradication of pests and diseases, making progress in controlling the Mediterranean fruit fly in the south-southeast and improving the animal health status of the livestock sector.
He explained the joint work at federal and state level, with the timely detection and attention of any threat and, for this, the timely participation of the agency's team and technicians to maintain the sanitary status and prestige of national products and their incursion into international markets.
The General Coordinator of Rural Development, Salvador Fernández Rivera, explained the development model for rural territories, through a work plan of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), based on sustainable, inclusive and profitable agriculture, the strengthening of production chains and market linkages.
This administration, he said, is working on the transition to agriculture with a social vision, identifying priority territories and regions in the states and achieving better conditions of equality in the national territory, for true agricultural, aquaculture and fisheries development that will contribute to food self-sufficiency and the quality of life of rural families.
Arturo Macosay Córdova, General Coordinator of Livestock, detailed the livestock actions in the state, such as the program for the acquisition of registered stallions from Escárcega and that this year more municipalities are expected to be included, with the aim of achieving a genetic improvement in the livestock herd of Campeche and the country, which will contribute to the goals of food self-sufficiency in milk and meat.
He also expressed support for beekeepers in Campeche, which includes the renewal of Reyna bees to desafricanize the hives and contribute to maintaining the quality and production of Campeche honey, which keeps the state in second place in national production.
The general coordinator of Territorial Operations, Víctor Manuel Juárez Gutiérrez, commented that the state has the potential and natural resources to increase agricultural land for the cultivation of basic grains such as corn, rice and soybeans, which will help reduce the importation of these products.
English version: Strategic plan to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from Mexico moves forward