Mexico City, December 11 (EFECOM). – 20% of the Mexican landscape has no longer been planted because it is affected by problems such as insecurity, lack of financing, migration of young people, lack of price coverage and government support, as well as growing health pressures such as screwworm, warned the president of the National Agricultural Council (CNA), Jorge Esteve, this Thursday.
“20% of the field is not being planted today,” he noted when taking stock at the end of the year.
“You can say it’s because of prices, yes, but it’s also because of security issues and because people are leaving the country; young people don’t want to work in the fields,” he explained.
Esteve added that the economic return for producers is “relatively low,” while in Mexico “there is no price coverage and no contract farming,” and the financial costs are prohibitive.
According to the manager, only eight out of 100 Mexican farmers have access to credit, compared to virtually all in the United States, where interest rates are around 3.5%, versus 18% or 20% in Mexico.
“You are putting us in very unfavorable competition,” he warned.
The agriculture sector leader also noted that uncertainty has become a structural cost for producers and consumers.
“Grains and food are now becoming between 10 and 20% more expensive for the Mexican consumer,” he said, adding that farmers in many regions face extortion that is even built into water or transportation fees.
Regarding the screwworm, Esteve regretted that Mexico reacted late even though it saw the threat coming.
“Prevention costs one, repair costs 10, catastrophic failure costs 100,” he said.
In addition, losses of more than 2,000 million dollars were estimated due to the decline in exports of more than 3,000 cattle per day.
Regarding the review of the T-MEC, the president of the ANC claimed that the region is “the most food self-sufficient region in the world,” but that Mexico faces large asymmetries compared to the United States.
“It’s not easy to compete… They have subsidies, specialists and state-of-the-art seeds,” he noted.
However, he ruled out calls to close the border: “That’s nonsense, we profit from American grain.”
In addition, Esteve explained that the new national water law ensures security in this area and allows compliance with obligations such as the 1944 Water Treaty.
“Water is no longer an insecurity… a country without water is worth practically nothing,” he said, stressing that the 18 points raised by the ANC were included in the reform.
And he called for comprehensive public measures to address the rural crisis.
“We are neglecting agriculture and we are neglecting national security,” he concluded. EFECOM
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