Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) revealed the expansion of a digital system to monitor water and fertiliser use in the agricultural sector, with the aim of promoting sustainable practices and reducing the water footprint, reported ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones.
The Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Víctor Manuel Villalobos Arámbula, announced the expansion of an innovative digital system to monitor and evaluate the use of water and fertilisers in Mexican agriculture. This project, which began as a pilot scheme, aims to promote sustainable food production.
Currently, the system operates on 30,000 hectares belonging to 4,000 producers, and by 2024 it is planned to be implemented in the state of Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico, and other parts of the country. The initiative seeks to make a technological leap through the use of information technologies to improve water use efficiency and ensure proper fertiliser management through soil monitoring and analysis.
The initiative seeks to make a technological leap through the use of information technologies to improve water use efficiency
The main objective is to reduce the water footprint, considering not only the amount of tons of food produced per hectare, but also the amount of water used and the possibility of reducing its consumption. In addition, the plan includes strategies for sustainable soil management, promoting the incorporation of microflora and microfauna to improve nutrient absorption and discourage harmful practices such as stubble burning.
The Secretary also recognised the urgent need to reduce water consumption in the agricultural sector, which currently accounts for 75% of the total volume used in Mexico. He proposed improving water infrastructure and technology, suggesting actions such as lining canals with concrete and tuberisation of irrigation water.
Mexico, as the sixth most irrigated country in the world, faces the challenge of reducing water wastage, which stands at 40 per cent. Villalobos warned about the overexploitation of groundwater, placing the country as the fourth largest extractor of water from the subsoil, after China, the United States and Indonesia.
The secretary concluded by highlighting the need to modernise laws and review subsidies, while stressing that technology is key to tackling the water crisis. Work is underway on a number of initiatives, such as the desalination of water in the San Quintín irrigation district in Baja California, although challenges are faced related to the disposal of the resulting salt.
