They call to support commercial agriculture to increase harvests

Rolando Medrano Gomez

Newspaper La Jornada
Monday, May 9, 2022, p. 3

In an interview, he says that he sees it very difficult to increase the volume of grains with social programs such as Sembrando Vida, a proposal from the Package against Inflation and Scarcity (Pacic) presented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, since they are aimed only at small producers. If you want to increase production you have to turn to see ushe warns.

It states that the commercial agriculture sector has been affected by high production costs, higher fertilizer prices, the economic consequences of the pandemic and the impact of the drought, so farmers require government measures that provide certainty.

For this, Vega Román proposes to create and develop public policies that strengthen commercial agriculture in order to increase the profitability of crops and produce food in the best conditions for the benefit of the population.

Sinaloa is the main national producer of white corn, used to make flour and later tortillas, a staple in the diet of 90 percent of Mexicans.

The president of Caades, which brings together 11 associations representing 30,000 farmers, both granaries and fruit and vegetable growers, regrets that the amount of imported grain is increasing, to the extent that Mexico heads the list in that category at the world.

We are realizing how dangerous it is not to produce more of our products and a worse scenario would be that the grains begin to be scarce”, he warns.

He maintains that most of the imported corn is of lower quality than that grown in Sinaloa. How is it possible that if the government insists that one of its objectives is to seek food sovereignty, year after year we import more and more? What is happening?.

It is not possible for (the government) to support producers who are planting five hectares and producing up to 20 tons; under this welfare, self-consumption scheme, it is difficult to increase the volumeshe points out.

It is required, he adds, that the authorities, look at us, because the signs are going in the opposite direction, there is zero support and encouragement for the big producers; it seems that the one who produces the most is punished.

Have a larger budget in the field it is very importantsince it would benefit areas such as research, technology, health care to maintain safety and be in a position to compete, agricultural insurance, a series of factors that give us certainty”.

He refers that the budget for the countryside has been drastically reduced, so he considers it is time to reflect and modify public policies, re-invest in the countryside, which is neglected, abandoned.

Marte Vega Román points out: the weight that the government invests in the countryside is not waste or money given away as has been wanted to be seen, but a great investment that we farmers more than return to the nation with food.

He mentions how important it is to keep the hydro-agricultural system in good condition, where most of the food is produced under the irrigation system. It is very dangerous to lag behind in the care of the system of dams, canals, in making efficient use of water.

It concludes that commercial farmers is a sector very importantbut it needs the support of the government and go together hand in hand. We are the ones who can make a difference in terms of production that meets demand and I don’t know if in the short term, but in the medium term we would help control inflation..

Per year, Caades produces an average of more than 10 million tons of food with a value of more than 12 billion pesos. It generates more than 300,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes directly and indirectly with more than 20 percent of the gross domestic product of Sinaloa, considered as the barn of mexico.