COVID-19 impacts on the guava crop production system in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico

Abstract

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, caused productive disruptions in the guava production system of the municipality of Calvillo, Aguascalientes. These disruptions included delays in the application of phytosanitary management measures against weevils and fruit flies, pests of quarantine, and economic importance, due to the appearance of positive cases among operational and technical personnel. Manual harvesting, an activity that requires large crews of agricultural workers, was delayed due to labor shortages. The cost and supply of fertilizers and pesticides were also affected due to problems in the supply chains of agro-inputs. The sale price of guava in supply centers and local markets fell on average from 10.83 to 10 MN/kg during the months of highest demand due to a 60% reduction in agricultural activities. In Calvillo, the return of Mexican migrants from the US and the presence of asymptomatic cases influenced the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among the local rural community.</p>

COVID-19 Pandemic: A plant health vision of a multidimensional problem

“…These are environments where infectious agents have had the highest contagion rates in historical epidemics (Cuevas-Castilleja et al, 2021;. Agricultural production in Mexico City, in the first infectious stage of COVID-19, evidenced its resilience despite a higher risk of contagion for workers than in the rural environments (Cuevas-Castilleja et al, 2021;Reyes-Tena et al, 2021;González-Gaona et al, 2021;. Additionally, the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 spread by food contaminated, mainly fresh food, was investigated due to the association of the first positive case with a food market in Wuhan, China.…”

“…The explanation is the infrastructure, human resources, and accessibility limitations to primary and secondary health services. The risk of contagion among agricultural workers affected the different productive stages and caused a contraction of local markets, mainly supply centers in urban areas (Cruces-Pedraza, 2021;Castañeda-Cabrera et al, 2021;Cuevas-Castilleja et al, 2021;González-Gaona et al, 2021;Reyes-Tena et al, 2021). However, it is necessary to emphasize that Mexican agricultural que se encuentran cultivos emblemáticos como el café, aguacate y cacao, están amenazados de extinción a causa de la conversión de hábitats naturales para uso humano.…”

“…Datos preliminares sobre letalidad de SARS-CoV-2 en zonas rurales fue mayor (12.4%) que en zonas urbanas (8.4%) (Rodríguez, 2021), en gran medida por restricciones de infraestructura, recursos humanos, e inaccesibilidad a servicios básicos de salud. El riesgo de contagio entre trabajadores agrícolas afectó los diferentes eslabones productivos y provocó una contracción de mercados locales, principalmente centrales de abasto en áreas urbanas (Cruces-Pedraza, 2021;Cuevas-Castilleja et al, 2021;González-Gaona et al, 2021;Reyes-Tena et al, 2021). Sin embargo, es necesario contextualizar que las políticas agrícolas, a partir de 1988 con la formalización del neoliberalismo económico, han tenido un grave deterioro con la desaparición o privatización de organismos esenciales como FERTIMEX, ANSA, CONAFRUT, INMECAFE, etc.…”

“…Producers are fully aware of the economic-political frameworks needed to provide high-risk investments certainty. As an example, in Mexico, Aguascalientes producers of guava reported a lack of economic-policy protection against competitiveness detriment, which worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic (González-Gaona et al, 2021). In contrast, avocado producers had strong government support, placing this sector in the first position worldwide making a significant contribution to the country's economy (Rivas-Valencia et al, 2021;.…”

“…Even with this adverse scenario, the interruption of continuous food supply occurred to a lesser degree than expected, consientes que requieren un marco económicopolítico que proporcione certidumbre a sus inversiones de alto riesgo. Por ejemplo, productores de guayabo de Aguascalientes, México reportaron una desprotección de políticas económicas en detrimento de competitividad de la cadena productiva del cultivo, lo cual se agudizó durante la pandemia por COVID-19 (González-Gaona et al, 2021). En contraste, productores de aguacate han tenido un fuerte apoyo federal garantizando a México la primera posición mundial productiva con fuerte contribución en la economía nacional (Rivas-Valencia et al, 2021;Castañeda-Cabrera et al, 2021).…”