In Mexico, there is currently a trend towards an increase in the production of nopal, largely driven by the discoveries of its properties; per capita consumption is 6.4 kilograms and its participation in vegetable production corresponds to 5.1 percent of the national total, reported the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Víctor Villalobos Arámbula.

In the last 10 years, in the country the area sown with this vegetable registered an increase of only 2.6 percent, but the volume of production increased 23 percent, which "indicates that it is a crop that has also become more technified and improved. their productivity ”, highlighted Villalobos Arámbula at the opening of the meeting“ Our wealth: El Nopal ”.

These results, he assured, have taken place "thanks to the efforts mainly of the producers - who participate in the production, transformation and commercialization chain - of nopal, to whom today we acknowledge and have all our gratitude".

He stressed that, based on data from the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), “in 2019 12,799 hectares of nopal vegetables were planted nationwide, with a production of 891,821 tons and an average yield of 71 tons per hectare. Nothing bad!"

On the other hand, he explained that, in support and promotion of this productive sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development addresses aspects of conservation and use of genetic resources of the nopal and prickly pear, supporting the work of collecting and conserving varieties of public domain.

Víctor Villalobos explained that 61 varieties are registered in the National Catalog of Plant Varieties of the National Seed Inspection and Certification Service (SNICS). Of these, 46 were requested by the Mexican Council of Nopal and Tuna, and 15 by the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo.

Additionally, he said, the Sectoral Committee on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has been formed, whose creation Agreement was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 15.

The objective of this Committee, he noted, is to promote the conservation, management, fair and equitable distribution of benefits and sustainable use of Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GRFA), with the main goal of contributing to self-sufficiency and food security of Mexicans.

At the meeting, organized by Agriculture, Historical and Cultural Memory of Mexico, the National Lottery and the Government of Morelos, he highlighted the daily work of producers to maintain and promote the cultivation of an emblematic genetic resource such as the nopal, which, due to its high cultural, historical and nutritional value, today a strategic place is claimed and recovered to regain self-sufficiency and food sovereignty.

“Know that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the support and inter-institutional cooperation, and the link with producers - as our president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has instructed - promotes a sustainable, inclusive agriculture, compatible with the conservation of the environment. , promoting the use of native and local seeds, as well as the consumption of nutritious, healthy and safe food, available to the entire population, because 'A healthy people is a strong people; and a strong people is self-sufficient! '", he concluded.

The general coordinator of the Historical and Cultural Memory of Mexico of the Presidency of the Republic, Eduardo Villegas Megías, stressed that this type of activities takes place within the framework of Commitment number 100 of the Government of Mexico with respect to recovering the historical memory of the people who They have built and build our country from different trenches, like the food producers of our country.

The Secretary of Agricultural Development of Morelos, Katia Herrera Quevedo, affirmed that the entity and Mexico City generate about 70 percent of the national production and the state contributes almost 400 thousand tons.

In 2019, he said, state production grew 4.5 percent compared to 2018. He said that last year national exports reported an increase, reaching 55 thousand tons, of which 99.5 percent went to the United States market, with an economic spill of almost 19 thousand dollars, and the rest to South Korea, Japan, China, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and the United Kingdom. 94 percent of the total production of this vegetable is consumed in Mexico, she added.

Within the framework of the event, Montserrat Orellana, on behalf of the General Director of the National Lottery, Margarita González Saravia, unveiled the new National Lottery ticket, with which they commemorate the National Nopal Day -September 18-, whose center of origin and domestication is the national territory, however, today they can also be found in wild areas of Mediterranean countries.

The raffle for this commemorative ticket will take place today at 8:00 p.m.

An academic discussion also took place at the event, with the participation of Omar Carpio Flores, member of the Nopal Product System National Committee; Clemente Gallegos, from the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, and Julio Herrera Jiménez, from Pronahi-Refuforum S.P.R. by RL.

The nopal commemorative meeting, organized by the Secretariat, is a recognition of the nutritional and nutritional value of producers of Mexican origin, such as corn, beans, chili and amaranth, among others, which have been part of the pre-Hispanic gastronomy of the first cultures that settled in what is now Mexico.

The nopal is an endemic product of Mexico where, in addition, it has diversified. There is a flora of approximately 3,573 endemic species and more than 80 percent of this endemism is located in the vegetations of xerophytic (desert) material in the arid and semi-arid zones of the country.

The nopal (opuntia spp) is an important member of this vegetation, it is part of the characteristic landscape of more than half of our territory. The word "Nopalli" comes from Nahuatl and is the symbol of Mexico, it is part of the indigenous iconography; of pictorial works; literary and musical, as well as the National Shield. The nopal is directly linked to our history.

The nopal center of origin has not been precisely established, however, considering its large number of species and varieties, it is likely that the process took place in the Potosino-Zacatecano highlands.

It is recognized that there are 167 Taxa of the subgenus opuntia and 10 of the genus Nopalea.

Its uses are extremely varied, some of which are better known: vegetables (nopalito), fruit (tuna), sweet (crystallized leaves; tuna cheese), pectin extraction, seed oil, green juices, alcoholic beverage (coloche), fences alive (boundaries between properties) association of soil formation, raw material for cosmetics and colorants such as cochineal (grana, carmine), binder and puncture fixer (or lime), fuel (firewood) and ornamental plant.

There are other varieties, forms of use of the cactus, some associated with our traditions and others more current product of technological advances and the new needs of people, such as, for example: the production of biogas for the generation of energy apart from leaves. of nopal.

The nopal provides a high content of zinc, phosphorus, calcium and fiber; in addition to vitamins A, B, C and K, chlorophyll and proteins. It is considered beneficial for the treatment of conditions such as diabetes and the nervous, immune, circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems.