At least 50 percent of the citrus producers in this region ended 2015 with difficulties because of a lack of productive projects, a drop in citrus prices, and the pests affecting the production and marketing of this product during the year.
The president of the Municipal Committee of the National Peasant Confederation (CNC), Julio Reyes Vazquez, said he didn't know how many producers were in this situation but that a large number of citrus growers had suffered the previous year. He also stated that producers engaged in the cultivation of pepper, beans, and corn had had a better year.
He said that last year producers hadn't received the projects they had requested and that the marketing of the fruit hadn't improved, particularly in November and December, when the demand of mandarins in previous seasons used to be higher.
Regarding pests, he said they hadn't performed any work because they didn't know who the local leader to fight the Mexican fruit fly was. This leader was designated by the SAGARPA, but to date the producer does not know who represents them on this issue.
Therefore, he said, producers hope that there will be more investment in the agricultural sector in 2016, that projects are reactivated, and that the authorities, such as Sagarpa, really work and monitor the work being done to create and support a higher productivity.
He added that there should be regulations so that citrus growers could make better profits because a large number of them were undergoing difficulties.
Source: noreste.net