Chihuahua, Chihuahua.— Jorge Esteve Reolons, president of the National Agricultural Council (CNA), asked the Government of Claudia Sheinbaum to increase the budget for the health and safety of the countryside, and thus prevent pests such as the barren growing worm affecting productive activities and paralizing livestock and agricultural exports.
“Senasica’s budget in the last 10 years has dropped 20 percent, if you see this in absolute terms, production has practically doubled in that process,” he said in the 2025 agri -food forum, organized by the CNA.
Lee: Sales of illegal cigarettes in Mexico cause fiscal losses for 13,500 million pesos
“Today there is less than half of the public resources for the amount of hectares we sow and produce in Mexico,” he recalled.
“Health and safety are the nation’s heritage and we must all defend and demand that the resources that require,” said the businessman before the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué Sacristán.
He said that the boreride worm is the perfect example of the punctual care of health and safety in Mexico, so “we were slow to see him come from Central America and we are barely starting a sterile flies plant in Chiapas, which is still missing more than 6 months of being ready.”
He raised to the authorities, producers and exporters “being more prepared and is not just the government.”
The agricultural industry must be part of the solution and not always be looking at other areas, he said when presenting a decalogue to boost the industry in Mexico.
“Senasica is important for the field, but infrastructure and logistics is also a challenge and has stopped investing in it and makes it more difficult,” he said.
He asked the political authorities based on science and regulatory certainty: “Field producers also need clear rules, transparent risk assessments and regulatory convergence with our partners.”
“Scientific evidence must be the common floor for food security, safety, biosecurity, seeds, genetic edition and criteria (ESG) environmental, social and governance,” he said.
“A multiannual plan for irrigation, reuse and measurement technification is required, as well as a recharge of aquifers and basins, conservation and health of soils with regenerative practices and climate risk management, he said.
“Today we see with approval what the Mexico Plan in Technification and the announcement for the regularization of concessions,” he said.
“There is a need for digital coverage in rural towns, open data and traceability, as well as the adoption of AI, sensors, drones and precision agriculture,” he said.
LEE: Government of Mexico expects that cattle exports to the US will resume at the beginning of 2026
“Innovating is not a luxury: it is the only way to produce more with less. Producers require credits with deadlines and guarantees according to the agricultural cycle, coverage instruments, catastrophic assurance and impact bonds, green funding for water efficiency, distributed energy and circular economy,” he said.
“We must defend and deepen the presence of Mexican products in North America, but add Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with differentiation, traceability and sustainability. Diversification is insurance against volatility,” he said.
