On Thursday, she presented ‘Plan Mexico,’ the 18-point strategy to confront foreign protectionism.

On Friday, Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegue announced that his country will invest US$4.2 billion by 2030 to benefit 750,000 agricultural producers and achieve food sovereignty.

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“We are going to increase the nation’s food sovereignty and self-sufficiency. We’re going to do it with Mexico’s small-scale producers. It is perfectly possible if we provide them with the necessary support,” he said, highlighting that US$2.7 billion will be invested this year alone to benefit 300,000 farmers.

By the time Sheinbaum’s administration ends in 2030, Mexico expects to increase corn production by 17% to 25 million tons and boost bean production by 64% to 1.2 million tons.

Rice harvests are also expected to double, reaching 450,000 tons per year — nearly half of the country’s domestic demand — said Berdegue, adding that his country aims to increase milk production by 15% to 15 billion liters.

“The goals our president has set for us are ambitious, but they are achievable because we’re going to do things right,” the Agriculture secretary said.

A Plan in Response to U.S. Tariffs

Food sovereignty and self-sufficiency are the first pillar in accelerating “Plan Mexico,” the 18-point strategy presented by President Sheinbaum on Thursday to strengthen the national industry and internal market in response to Donald Trump’s protectionist measures.

On Wednesday, Mexico’s agricultural sector was exempted from the broad tariffs imposed by Trump on the rest of the world due to its inclusion in the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). However, nearly half of Mexico’s exports are subject to tariffs because they fall outside the agreement or are related to the steel, aluminum, and automobile sectors.

“For several months we’ve been developing a plan to locate producers and increase production in the southeast of the country, where there is water,” Sheinbaum said, noting that Plan Mexico focuses on two main areas: supporting rural and coastal producers and increasing food production, with white corn as a top priority.

The new program “Harvesting Sovereignty” will offer farmers loans of up to US$65,000 at an interest rate half the market rate, along with technical and agroecological assistance, and support in research and marketing of their products.

The Sheinbaum administration will create a the “Wellbeing Seed Producer” to provide farmers with high-quality, non-GMO seeds. By 2030, Mexico will implement 30,000 “Wellbeing Stores” to distribute food baskets to consumers with at least 15% savings and fair prices for producers of corn, beans, cocoa, coffee, and honey.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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