SADER Envisions Sustainable Growth for the Avocado Industry

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), along with state governments and the agro-industry, has pledged to advance the well-ordered, sustainable, and comprehensive growth of Mexican avocado production, packaging, and marketing. The primary focus remains on fostering the preservation of ecosystems, ecological processes, environmental services, and biodiversity in production zones.

Santiago Arguello, General Coordinator of Agriculture, SADER, reiterated the commitment to safeguard the sterling reputation of Mexican avocados, which includes promoting structured growth without changes in land use, and encouraging all stakeholders in the production chain to maintain responsible environmental practices. He highlighted the need to adhere to Art. 99 of the General Law of Sustainable Forest Development, to ensure agricultural growth without altering land use. He underscored the need to combine public, private, and social efforts to achieve this goal.

Sol Ortiz, Director General of Policies, Prospects, and Climate Change, SADER, emphasized the imperative to discourage deforestation to protect the avocado market. Acknowledging the majority of producers' adherence to good agricultural practices, she stressed the importance of minimizing the water footprint and mitigating CO2 emissions. "We must ensure a viable market, maintain order, and promote law compliance, all while documenting execution to fortify sustainable avocado production, packaging, and marketing," she noted.

Cuauhtémoc Ramírez Romero, Michoacan Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, introduced the Guardian of the Forest initiative. This scheme aims to mitigate land-use changes due to avocado cultivation and could be adopted by other state governments. The system manages real-time satellite monitoring to compare current hectares with images from up to 20 years ago, helping detect forest loss and enabling timely reporting to the State Attorney General's Office.

Federal and state authorities, along with producer and packer associations, committed to ongoing information exchange and the development of necessary legal instruments. Once the land-use map with the agricultural frontier of avocados is updated, concrete actions will be defined to strengthen and organize sustainable production, packaging, and marketing of national avocados.