<p>Today’s exports from Mexico’s developed technologies now exceed <B>3.5 billion dollars</b> with more than <B>59 thousand acres in production</b>, representing almost 15 % of the total value of the Mexican agricultural exportations. But Mexico’s path to controlled atmosphere greatness was not without its trials and tribulations. To recap, the 1990s marked a time in Mexico’s agricultural history when technologies, mostly European, were installed in Mexico for complete cycles of vegetable production in large scale for export markets. During this time the midwest and northeast of Mexico began the production of tomatoes in controlled atmosphere conditions, for the purpose of exporting to the United States and Canada.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.andnowuknow.com/quick-dish/roots-protected-agriculture-mexico-eric-viramontes-visi-n-y-servicios/eric-viramontes">Previous Story From Eric Viramontes</a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">At the end of 1997, only 3 years after the NAFTA trade agreement was signed, less than 2000 acres of protected agriculture existed in the entire country. <B>Today, approximately 56,000 acres exist in the country.</b></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The following years to come, presented a stage that I recognize as “the learning curve” of Mexico's protected agriculture industry in which <B>mistakes abounded, and many companies did not survive</b>. In this period, a wide range of foreign credits where made available and a great quantity of foreign technologies arrived to Mexican territory. Some of these technologies came from Israel, Holland, France, Spain, and the occasional one or two form Italy, but this also accompanied a wave of deadly mistakes.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>These <B>state-of-the-art technologies</b>, while being very adequate and function-able for the regions that they were designed for, were not working out on a large scale and <B>some even failed in Mexico</b>. Today, it is very easy to understand why this happened since no validation or adaptation process existed for the geographical, climatic and social conditions of Mexico, in addition to the fact that the investments were extremely high and practically impossible to redeem in a profitable way. It was a disaster waiting to happen. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>It was thought that by simply being greenhouses, growers believed that these new resources were going to work in an efficient manner; coping and pasting technologies from other countries, and installing them with all their active equipment, material and technological packages that were not entirely necessary for this territory. Technicians, consultants and growers from the place of origin of the suppliers of this greenhouses installed, also arrived with extremely expensive professional fees to try to make their structures function with null adaptation for the regions to which they were sold.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>However, not only was an expensive infrastructure installed but many were not able to make these new technologies function in an efficient manner. On the other hand, prices did rise for operational costs and generated a economical incongruity for a lot of farmers, forcing them to take <B>drastic decisions.</b></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>This state of crisis, plus the complexity of operating this new format along with the fresh market dynamism of North America, obligated growers to search for other alternatives.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>In 2004 the Mexican inventory of protected agriculture barely over passed the 12,000 acres. At this time, no foreign or local financing programs where available. From this year on a new story started to be written and the country started to revive on its own resources. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p> The Mexican industry realized that these technologies should be more like tailor made suits and that what works for one part of the world is not necessarily going to be effective in another continent.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Mexicans constructors and technology designers emerge at this point; individuals who understood the weather diversity of Mexico and also have had a fair understanding of the world of technology advances. Adding the experience of the Mexican farmers, they started to "tropicalize" or adapt technologies, making those tailored suits that the industry needed.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>In this stage many learned that a greenhouse did not have to be a million dollar investment, but <B>could achieve highly effective and efficient results with the correct technologies</b>, that were not necessarily as expensive, but rather appropriate to exact growing locations and conditions.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Growing techniques where also simplified, and made more efficient and sustainable, since modern growers search to create the best conditions for the plants, making use of the great variety of structures available for all weather conditions and combing foreign knowledge, to make greenhouses designed for Europe, work in Mexican territory.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The objective was to produce <B>high quality and higher yields, while promoting efficiencies, and being more sustainable</b> by using the exiting weather conditions in Mexico. Which, by they way, offered ideal conditions for the production of vegetables in most parts of its territory. With great solar radiation, very adequate temperatures, and other advantages, growing operations did not have to invest as much as what other latitudes in the world with less solar light and less appropriate temperatures where investing.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The lesson was learned and the protected agriculture was converted into a fast growing and profitable industry for Mexico, also accomplishing worldwide leadership and recognition. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned for our conclusion of Mexico's growth in protected agriculture in part 3 of this 3 part series.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
