Profitability And Competitiveness Of Mexican Lemon In An Endemic Huanglongbing Environment Under Two Technological Approaches

Huanglongbing (HLB, term of Chinese origin), a destructive disease that affects citrus fruits, has reduced lemon profitability in many citrus countries. In Mexico, the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP) generated a technological package that contributes to the control of the disease vector and, through proper technical management, maintains the vigor of the infected trees. The aim of this work was to determine the profitability, competitiveness and productive efficiency of the Mexican lemon in crops with coexistence with the HLB in Colima through a comparative analysis between the traditional technological package and that of the INIFAP. The Policy Analysis Matrix (MAP) was applied. The information was obtained from records of experimental orchards and was complemented with 40 surveys of farmers with orchards coexisting with HLB: 20 to users of the INIFAP package and 20 of the traditional package. Both technologies were profitable, with the traditional one a 95 % profit was obtained and with the INIFAP package it was 115 %. The RCP (private cost ratio) of the INIFAP package (0.36) indicated greater competitiveness compared to the traditional package (0.44). The lemon harvest was profitable and competitive, although the lack of protection of economic policies for local production systems was evident. The adoption of the INIFAP technology package mitigated the impact of HLB and improved performance in the study region.