Producers have stopped planting coffee in the high mountains of the state of Hidalgo because of its low profitability, the damages caused by the weather on the crops, and the farmers' migration.
The head of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Sedagro), José Alberto Narvaez Gomez, recognized that the cultivation of coffee in the region was no longer profitable for producers.
The state official didn't say how much the coffee production had decreased but he did say there were plots that had once produced coffee and that were now being used for other crops.
In this regard, he said that, instead of planting coffee, producers had begun to grow avocado because it was a product with a stable price and international demand.
A cooperation agreement between the Cevacytt and Inifap Michoacan was signed in order to provide producers of the mountains of Hidalgo specialized training and technical advice on how to improve their avocado crops.
The National Institute for Animal Agriculture and Forestry Research (INIFAP) from Michoacan will train over 200 producers from the municipalities of Tepehuacán, Tlanchinol, Lolotla, Huazalingo, Molango, and Xochicoatlán. Currently, more than 500 hectares of avocado have already been cultivated.
Source: criteriohidalgo.com