Climate change has affected the citrus sector in Tamaulipas. Production has been low in the last four crop cycles and it has fallen by more than 50 percent.
According to Javier Ibarra Echartea, president of the Emiliano Zapata Regional Union of Citrus Producers, which is part of the National Peasant Confederation (CNC), 5 years ago they managed to produce more than 600,000 tons of oranges per year and currently they only achieve harvesting less than 400,000 tons per year.
He said that the effects of climate change could be seen in the citrus activity as the young trees, which previously would yield a lot of products, now had a low production.
Ibarra Echartea estimated that the next harvest would not surpass 400,000 tons, which he considered unfortunate for his fellow citrus producers.
In addition to this natural phenomenon, the sector faces the threat of the yellow dragon plague, which would completely end this activity if it's presence were confirmed in the state.
Ibarra acknowledged the efforts made by the State Government to implement a program that inspects all the plants and fruits that pass through the roads of Tamaulipas so as to detect the presence of the bacteria.
One of the steps that have been taken is the destruction of lemongrass, an ornamental plant widely used in homes, as it can host the bacterium.
Source: gaceta.mx