CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION – MEXICO
Main economic, land use and agricultural characteristics (2004)
GDP per capita (USD)
Population density
Agriculture in GDP
53.6/km2
1 502
Agriculture in employment
5.9%
24.1%
Source: INEGI, National Accounts system. Information for year 2004; CONAPO Population projections 2000-2050
Land use in Mexico (2002)
Land use
000 hectares
% of total area
Total
area
land Forest area
Total agricultural area
Arable land
Grassland
190 869
69 0181
107 300
24 800
80 000
100
36.2
56.2
13
41.9
Note: 1. Includes warm and rain forests, including the damaged forests
Source: FAOSTAT; SEMARNAT – Environmental Statistics Summary 2002 for data on forest area.
Mexico has a great agricultural production variety due to its mega diversity and pluricultural
condition. Given its ecological diversity, 50.5% of national territory is arid and semi-arid zones, 31.5% are
tropical humid and semi-humid ecosystems and 17% are temperate areas. Within the cultural and
environmental diversity, there are basically two systems of production in Mexico: One of them is focused
on the domestic and export markets and the other for rural subsistence. Agriculture for commercial
purposes is located in the irrigation districts and zones and in the modernized temporary zones; rural
agriculture, on the other hand, is set on the mountain ranges of temperate and tropical weather as well as on
dry zones; most of the time, rural agricultural production has insufficient rain.
More than 50% of agricultural production is generated in the irrigation zones, within a surface of
6.3 million ha and in modernized temporary zones, which surface reaches 2.4 million ha (hectares). The
main irrigation zones are found in the north and centre areas of the country; modernized temporary zones
are located on the coastal plain, as well as on the humid and sub-humid tropic. The main agricultural
products of Mexico are maize (mostly white for human consumption), fodder sorghum and wheat. In 2004,
32.8 million tons of maize was produced in the whole country, which was mainly grown in irrigation and
favourable temporary zones. In the same year, production of fodder sorghum reached 7.0 million tons and
wheat output was 2.4 million tons; both products were grown in irrigation and temporary zones on the
centre and northern parts of the country.
Agricultural policies and support to agriculture
Agricultural policies consist mainly of market price support provided through tariffs and tariff rate
quotas (TRQs), payments based on historical entitlements, payments based on input use, mainly fixed
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inputs, and technical assistance. While the general level of tariff protection is being reduced in the context
of the URAA, border measures with Canada and the United States have been reduced more quickly within
the framework of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and will result in zero tariffs for all
agricultural products in 2008. Mexico allocates its tariff rate quotas (TRQ) through auctions or direct
allocation based on historical trade. The maize TRQ is often increased above the scheduled commitments
in response to changing domestic market conditions.
The set of programmes under ALIANZA (Alliance for Agriculture) co-financed with State
governments and producers, aims at enhancing investment on farms, especially in poor, rural areas. The
PROCAMPO programme disburses payments to eligible farmers, based on the area planted during an
historical base period, on condition that farmers use their land for agricultural or livestock production, or
for an environmental programme. The Support Services for Agricultural Marketing Agency (ASERCA)
also provides per tonne deficiency payments for wheat, maize, sorghum, rice and some other crops. In
addition, the National Water Commission — a government agency in charge of the administration of
water, and of the building and maintenance of water infrastructure — receives budget transfers that may
reduce farmers’ irrigation costs. Energy prices (electricity and diesel) for agriculture are subsidised. The
Secretariat for Social Development (SEDESOL) supports poor families to buy food under the
“Oportunidades” (former Progresa) programme. The PROCEDE programme, run by the Secretariat for
Agrarian Reform, has promoted the development of land property rights in the Ejidos (a Mexican
community-based form of social ownership).
Figure 1. Figure 1 Support to Agriculture: Mexico
Percentage PSE, and structure of the PSE
%PSE
100%
100
80%
80
60%
60
40%
40
20%
20
0%
0
2003p
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
-40
1988
-40%
1987
-20
1986
-20%
Other
Payments based on historical entitlements
Payments based on area planted/animal numbers
Market Price Support, payments based on output and on input use
%PSE
Source: OECD, PSE database, 2004
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Agri-environmental policies
The main objective of the agri-environmental policy is to promote sustainable development within
rural zones and communities, as well as to overcome environmental deterioration (soil, water resources)
and maintain biodiversity. The scope of policies addressing directly environmental issues in agriculture is
rather limited. These policies are implemented as part of programmes supporting development of
sustainable projects and programmes targeted to poor rural areas (e.g. the Ecological Projects of
PROCAMPO). The policy is applied through different strategy outlines, through the following key
policies:
Policies promoting environmental cross-compliance: every governmental program that involves
commercial production and poverty overcome should include criteria for sustainable use of natural
resources and the environment.
Policies promoting sustainable forest development: policies promoting an increasing efficiency in
wood production, diversification in non wood products and promotion of forest ecosystems as a platform
to generate important positive environmental effects for the community, such as: (i) sweet water collection;
(ii) carbon and toxic gases sequestration; and (iii) biodiversity preservation. This strategy outline is
implemented through several actions, like PRODEFOR, PROCYMAF, Program to Develop the Market of
Environmental Services by Carbon Capture and Biodiversity By-products, as well as to Promote
Establishment and Improvement of Agri- orestry Systems (PSA-CABSA) and the Program of Payment by
Hydrologic Environmental Services (PSAH), dealt with more detail in the attached formats of this
inventory. However, from the forestry programmes the Inventory includes only those programmes which
are supporting the transfer from agricultural land into forestry (payments based on land retirement).
Protected Natural Areas: Currently, Mexico has 154 protected natural areas that cover a surface of
18.7 million ha (almost 10% of the national territory). According to these areas, the PRODERS Programme
(see detail in the inventory) promotes integral sustainable development of communities through soil and
natural resources conservation and management projects, as well as sustainable production projects, in
order to reinforce preservation policies established in the Creation Act of Protected Natural Areas.
Key information sources
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (only in Spanish): http://www.semarnat.gob.mx
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources: http://www.semarnat.gob.mx/
Secretariat of Agrarian Reform (only in Spanish): http://www.sra.gob.mx/inforagraria/index.htm
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