Coatis Threaten Sweet Potato Supply for Day of the Dead

JOSÉ MARÍA MORELOS, MX — With the Day of the Dead celebration just weeks away, farmers in the rural area of José María Morelos are facing a challenging outlook due to a shortage of traditional products for altars, particularly sweet potatoes, which this year could reach prices of up to 400 pesos per box.

Freddy Argüello Pacheco, a farmer from the community of Othón P. Blanco, explained that production has been severely affected by the presence of coatis, animals that in recent months have invaded the crops in search of food.

“The sweet potato is one of the most used items during these dates, but now the animals are taking a large part of the harvest. We didn’t see this as much before, but since there are no fruit trees left in the forest, they come directly to the crops,” he stated.

Besides sweet potatoes, he said that other products like yucca and jicama are maintaining better production, although a slight price increase is also expected due to the season.

Argüello commented that, despite sweet potatoes not requiring fertilizers or fumigation, the investment and effort of the farmer are being discouraged by the losses from this pest.

“Whatever we manage to harvest is profit, but with the animals, it is becoming increasingly difficult,” he added.

Under these conditions, he indicated that the availability of sweet potatoes for Day of the Dead altars will be limited, which could impact local markets in the region.