Members of the Association of Producers and Packing Exporters of Mexican Avocados (Apeam), as well as of the National and State Avocado councils, among other organizations, demonstrated against the regularization of orchards and the destruction of illegal crops being carried out by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change and Territorial Development (Semaccdet) of Michoacan.
Producers said that intervening in the orchards is destroying legal jobs. They also said that the loss of more than one million hectares of forest was due to illegal logging, other agricultural activities, forest fires and human settlements, as the avocado crop in Michoacan only occupied 147,720 hectares.
In addition, they said the dismantling of orchards was illegal and they demonstrated against the payment of 7 thousand pesos per hectare of avocado for environmental services, which will be used for reforestation and pine production.
The Semaccdet stated that the destruction of avocado orchards was legal, which is why 11 of the 16 legal actions promoted by producers had been already discarded by the courts. So far this year 320 hectares of avocado have been destroyed in 45 illegal orchards in 11 municipalities, including Uruapan, Tacambaro, Zitacuaro, Salvador Escalante, and Villa Madero, the agency said.
The head of Semaccdet, Ricardo Luna, said it was illogical for the big avocado companies to oppose the signing of an agreement to create a fund (with the contribution of 7,000 pesos per hectare) for environmental services that will help protect forests, install nurseries, and promote productive projects.
The official said it was evident that there was an environmental disorder and that wealth should not be achieved at the expense of ecological balance. He said that they had signed more than 100 agreements with small avocado producers, and there were a thousand more pending. This means that the people that have the least have agreed to protect the forests. The avocado consumes enormous quantities of water so it's necessary that the people who are benefiting from this resource create a fund to obtain water, he said.
Luna stressed that, in the last 20 years, , in which the state lost 1.3 million hectares of trees, the federal Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources had not granted any permissions in Michoacan to change land use for planting avocado.
Source: zocalo.com.mx