In July, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Mexico will release the outcomes of a comprehensive agro-ecological zoning conducted in Jalisco. This initiative aims to structure the regional landscape and agricultural practices, focusing on crops such as avocado, agave, and berries, which have been identified by activists and environmentalists as contributing to deforestation and drought in certain areas of the state.
Lina Pohl, FAO's representative, highlighted the importance of this study for guiding the public policies of future governmental authorities at all levels. The study sheds light on the intensive water usage by berry and avocado cultivation, particularly in regions where aquifer levels have significantly declined. "The berry and avocado crops they are very water consumers, in areas where aquifers have been installed, they have dropped a lot. They start with 50 meter wells, they are going to drill 100, 150, 300, 400 meters, and it is as if they have the water that is for everyone with a hidden straw and the government does not regulate these situations," Pohl explained.
The findings of this zoning will question the current agricultural expansion of berries, agave, and avocado in Jalisco, probing the basis of such developments and the feasibility of relocating established crops based on the new data.
Source: blueberriesconsulting.com