Alfredo Lara-Herrera

Views on sustainability and the willingness to adopt an environmental management system in the Mexican vegetable sector

In Mexico, agriculture’s main environmental problems are related to water resources, deforestation and soil erosion. These problems are more acute in arid or semiarid regions such as in the state of Zacatecas. Environmental management systems (EMS) can be an alternate means for improving environmental conditions. In this study, factors that determine willingness to adopt an EMS in the vegetable production units of the state of Zacatecas were identified. We also analysed views on sustainability and production practices oriented toward environmental management and care of natural resources, as well as drivers and barriers to EMS adoption. Factors determining EMS adoption were level of education, awareness of the importance of caring for and protecting natural resources, application of agricultural practices oriented toward protecting the environment, and ignorance of environmental problems.

Competitividad, eficiencia e impacto ambiental de la producción de frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) en Zacatecas, México

A principios de la decada de los noventa en Mexico se iniciaron una serie de programas para coadyuvar a la competitividad de los productores rurales frente al retiro del estado en el apoyo a la produccion, comercializacion y servicios sectoriales, asi como en su incorporacion en el proceso de liberalizacion comercial. Zacatecas es el principal productor de frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) nacional. La mayor parte de la produccion se cultiva en temporal. Escasa precipitacion pluvial, baja eficiencia en riego agricola y sobreexplotacion de los acuiferos provoca danos ambientales. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el impacto de la politica agricola en los sistemas de produccion de frijol del estado de Zacatecas a traves de la determinacion de las tecnologias de produccion competitivas y eficientes, considerando las fallas de mercado relacionadas al ambiente. Se determinaron los indicadores de competitividad y eficiencia a traves de la aplicacion de la matriz de analisis de politica ampliada (MAPA). La investigacion se desarrollo con informacion del ciclo agricola primavera-verano 2009. El marco de analisis fueron los Distritos de Desarrollo Rural de Zacatecas, Fresnillo, Rio Grande y Ojocaliente. Con excepcion de las tecnologias TCS del DDR de Zacatecas, BCF y TCS de Ojocaliente, todos los sistemas de produccion mostraron ser competitivos en la situacion actual. Los sistemas de produccion cultivados con tecnologias competitivas tambien resultaron eficientes, exceptuando el TCSL de Fresnillo y BMF de Ojocaliente. La adopcion de practicas sostenibles reducira el deterioro de la competitividad y eficiencia de los sistemas de produccion

Evolutionary Algorithms in Modelling of Biosystems

Globally there is a land area of 13000 million ha, of which the area used for agricultural production is 1500 million ha (Naciones Unidas sobre el Desarrollo de los Recursos Hidricos en el mundo [NUDRHM], 2006), that is 12% of the total surface. Because the productivity of the agricultural sector is reduced, in general, the intensive production in controlled environments is an alternative to increase productivity in the aforementioned sector. For this reason, the use of greenhouses for agricultural production has increased in recent years. In the world, currently some 265,000 hectares are cultivated in greenhouses. Asia, with more than 138,000, represents at this moments the leading world power in intensive production under plastic cover. In the second place, with 95,000 ha, the Mediterranean basin is placed. Northern Europe (16,000 ha) and the American Continent (15,600 ha) share the rest. Holland remains the maximum exponent in agriculture under high-tech cover, especially so that which refers to crystal greenhouses. The crop inside greenhouse allows to obtain productions of better quality and higher yields, at any time of the year, while it permits extending the cycle of farming, enabling production in the most difficult times of the year and getting better prices. Due to the benefits that provide crops inside greenhouse, crops should have a controlled microclimate using different systems to regulate environmental conditions, limiting the excesses and filling shortcomings in terms of crop needs, in order to take place in every moment the optimal conditions of different stages of plant development. In addition to the advantages that production has in controlled environments it is important to reduce production costs, such as heating costs, irrigation and fertilization. To achieve this it is necessary to have a system that controls the environment inside the greenhouse that allows improving production and crop quality, product quality, time of the production process and improving production costs. Moreover, the system should allow the farmer to have sufficient information about requirements and changes observed over time in crop development. These control systems are based on mathematical models that describe the behavior of variables, such as air temperature, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) and absolute humidity. Therefore, to improve the productivity of the crop under greenhouse it is necessary to study the process