Yucatán’s Backyard Gardens Boost Local Economy

Santa Elena, Yucatán — Governor Joaquín Díaz Mena led the distribution of support for the Backyard Gardens and Renaissance Roads programs during a working tour of southern Yucatán. The initiatives are designed to improve the economy and living conditions for producers in the region.

The Governor delivered aid from the Backyard Gardens program to beneficiaries from six municipalities: Santa Elena, Kopomá, Muna, Opichén, Sacalum, and Ticimul. The program promotes food security by enabling families to produce their own food and sell any surplus for additional income.

“Take advantage of this support. These aren’t just gardens; we’re giving life, hope, and a future, so that you can plant them in your own yards with your own hands. Each furrow is a reaffirmation of the strength of our communities and the heritage of our ancestors, and above all, of the pride we feel for our Mayan culture and all the richness we have received,” Governor Díaz Mena stated.

He expressed gratitude to several organizations for their contribution and advice to the program's beneficiaries: the Cultural Missions, the Technological Institute of Conkal, the Scientific Research Center of Yucatán (CICY), and the State Committee of Plant Health.

Enhancing Rural Connectivity and Transport

Alongside the agricultural program, the Renaissance Roads scheme aims to better connect agricultural production units. Governor Díaz Mena explained that this will allow producers to transport their harvests more safely and under dignified conditions.

“That’s why today we’re working on 44 kilometers of road. We’re supporting 30 committees representing more than 300 producers, with an investment of 3.4 million pesos. We’re repairing more than 700 kilometers of roads throughout Yucatán for the benefit of our producers,” he reported.

A beneficiary of the Renaissance Roads program, José Avelino Sansores Poot, thanked the Governor on behalf of his fellow group members. “My entire group and all the ejido members who have irrigation units in this town are very grateful to the Governor. Comrades, we are going to demonstrate our willingness to work and that the support he is giving us will translate into better roads and more opportunities for our crops,” he said.

Broader Initiatives for Rural Transformation

Governor Díaz Mena emphasized that his administration seeks to guide and support young people so that work in agriculture yields higher profits and greater family well-being. Support initiatives are being promoted across the livestock, henequen, and agricultural sectors with the aim of transforming agriculture from a symbol of poverty into a symbol of wealth.

The Governor also announced collaborative projects with the Santa Elena City Council, including the search for land to build 100 homes with the National Housing Commission (Conavi) for the poorest families. Additional projects are a covered dining hall for the primary school, a dome for the Benito Juárez preschool, and the delivery of a medical transport vehicle at the beginning of next year.

Díaz Mena attributed the possibility of these projects to the unconditional support of the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. “We will continue visiting town after town to ensure that producers receive this support and dedicate themselves to cultivating the land for the benefit of the farmers. This support is guaranteed, because we know they will put it to good use,” he stated.

He concluded by defining the vision of the initiative: “That is what the Mayan Renaissance is all about: that, just as the Renaissance was one of the most brilliant periods in the history of humanity, the best years for our Mayan people will be those yet to come.”

Program Reach and Official Support

The head of the Secretariat of Rural Development (Seder), Edgardo Medina Rodríguez, detailed that the Backyard Gardens program is currently serving 43 municipalities of high and very high marginalization across the state. “We are convinced that the revitalization of the countryside will revitalize its families and strengthen the agricultural sector and rural activities. I appreciate the trust of the producers and want to tell them that they have an ally in the Ministry of Rural Development,” he concluded.

The event was attended by several officials and beneficiaries, including Emir Ausencio Rodríguez Cutz, a Backyard Gardens beneficiary from Sacalum; local congresswoman Neyda Pat Dzul; Jorge Carlos Berlín Montero, head of the Yucatán Representation Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader); Rocío Pulido Ojeda, director of the Conkal Technological Institute; Verónica Quiñones Lugo, state coordinator of Cultural Missions; Pedro Cabrera Quijano, president of the Produce Yucatán Foundation; Luis Novelo Piña, coordinator of the Backyard Production for Well-being Program; and Ricardo Munguía Rosales, manager of the Yucatán State Committee for Plant Health (Cesvy).