Sader benefits 18 entities with forage cactus nurseries

The development of the intensive forage cactus nursery project, carried out through the National Commission for Arid Zones (Conaza), has allowed 18 federal entities and the Comarca Lagunera to have inputs to face water shortages, attend to their livestock activities and increase the cadastral value of 441.3 hectares, reported the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader).

This production model has also helped alleviate the lack of feed for livestock and acts as a source of income and well-being for the communities in the arid and semi-arid areas of these entities.

The initiative had an investment of 40.8 million pesos, which were applied from 2021 to 2023 to promote the strategic projects “Establishment of plots of forage nopal without thorns” and “Establishment of nurseries for the multiplication of cladodes of forage nopal in arid areas of Mexico,” the federal agency highlighted.

He added that with technical assistance and the provision of direct financial support, 441.3 hectares of this forage were cultivated, of which 119.88 hectares were under irrigation and 321.42 hectares were under rainfed conditions, and its cadastral value even increased during that period.

The above benefited 610 producers, located in 402 localities of the Comarca Lagunera and the states of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, DurangoJalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Zacatecas, he said.

He highlighted that in 2023, 267 cactus producers were supported, of which 81 percent were members of the Wixarika, Na’yeri, Odam and Meshikan’ indigenous peoples and communities, belonging to the Sierra Madre Occidental of Durango, Nayarit and Jalisco; Rarámuri, from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua; Yoreme, Mayo, Yaquis and Guarijíos, from Sonora; Yumano, from northern Baja California, and from the municipalities of Mexticacan and Cañadas de Obregón, in Jalisco.

All farmers received training and technical support for the location of their plots, the review of the quality of the vegetative material, the preparation of the land and the design of the plantations, among others, reported Agriculture.

The benefits of the thornless forage cactus

The Ministry of Agriculture stressed that the thornless forage cactus represents an alternative to

The cactus requires minimal care and low investment in its agricultural management. In addition, it favors the retention and recovery of grasslands and degraded soils, he stressed.

By having forage available all year round, he said, producers are able to reduce mortality in their livestock during dry seasons and, in turn, obtain higher income from sales of dairy products and meat.

The Ministry of Agriculture stressed that the plots of this variety of cactus function as nursery grounds and demonstration spaces for production technology, with the aim of enhancing its benefits and extending them to more producers in the country.

After two years of planting, producers begin to harvest good quality stalks for livestock feed supplementation and to reduce the purchase of fodder.

He added that, with their cactus crops, farmers are able to generate agricultural seeds to be marketed and increase the income that their production units bring them.