| Summary of Income Strategies on our Model Neem ,Commercial Reforestation Plantation, Tropical Sheep Ranch and Organic Farm Products, and Crops Serving both Export and Major Local Tourist Markets Including Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Merida, and others. |
| www.PlanetaVerdeMarAzul.org www.Green Planet Blue Sea.com The Official Website for Maya Neem Farms, Yucatan, Mexico A Model Neem Plantation in Progress for Profitable, Integrated, Sustainable and Ecologically Balanced Rural Development, Renewable Land, Sea and Water Use, and Resource Conservation |
| Introduction: This, hopefully, is where our entire site ties together, where the pieces begin to fit for the folks just arriving, perhaps for the first time, as well as those of us who have been involved in and/or thinking about these activities and concepts for years and even whole careers now. This will be no small feat but we will, I promise, do our best no matter how many times it takes to get it right! We welcome comments, questions, and suggestions at any time, by the way. Thank you! To save time this first go, I will start with a lineal out line, more or less (but not necessarily) in order of importance. From the outline we will then flesh out each topic and also tie it to all of the related topics and other strategies with brief explanations, including links to other parts of this site, and URLs to other sites and resources as well. |
| Summary Outline: Initial base activity: Neem Plantation (60-70 irrigated hectares) Goals: Harvesting of leaves, bark, seeds for oil, tropical hardwood lumber, profitable reforestation, habitat recovery, absorption of atmospheric CO2. Sustainable rural development, employment for the local and extended community, local, "Farm Made" production of organic pesticides, fertilizers, and compost. Reduce then, eliminate dependence on Petrochemical agricultural products. Support the growth of home grown, "Cottage industries" and small farms, ranches and plantations through local communities´ ability to easily grow/produce their own products collectively marketing excess for greater profits and return on investment of labor and usually limited capital. Increase individual and collective incomes/profits by developing local economic production forces and by reducing dependence and related costs of shipping (including importation from abroad) products into and out of the immediate local area and markets. Increased local and individual economic autonomy. Contribute to halting current migration from rural areas to urban centers including to other countries due to lack of local economic opportunity. Positively affect ranching, farming, reforestation, commercial reforestation, and commercial furniture, wood-working, and artisan industries and markets. Provide an economically viable, near term, alternative and model to the failing cattle industry and/or other single and over-use land-use activities. Halt then reverse environmental and habitat degradation. Secondary/Synergistic Activity "A": Raising Tropical Sheep Goals: Maintain terrain free from under and overgrowth in cultivated and reforested areas. Eliminate environmentally devastating "slash and burn" agriculture and ranching practices. Cut back tremendously on excessive manual labor for clearing fields which instead could be put to better more productive use in other more productive activities. Potential to sell sheep to other plantations for same purpose. Fertilize land for cultivation and reforestation. Potential to introduce wool producing sheep for commercialization. Depending upon personal belief systems/economic goals and strategies, high potential and growing demand for sheep as a commercial meat source and growing alternative to beef cattle. The market? 65% of sheep consumed in Mexico alone are imported.... The beauty of this system is that even if you do not intend to market sheep as a meat source, they are nevertheless invaluable "helpers" to your plantation operation especially since they eliminate or cut back dramatically on the need to spend large sums on manual labor for clearing brush and/or the horrendous practice of the annual burning off of the inevitable, if unattended, over growth. The sheep also replace contaminating and scientifically proven birth defect causing, Petrochemical herbicides and defoliants which ultimately end up in ...everyone´s... water supply as well as worker´s lungs and skin. Secondary/Synergistic Activity "B": Planting/Harvesting Chili Habanero It should be noted that the Yucatecan Chili Habanero is famous and in high demand world wide. From an article re-published on this site: "Yucatan state produces 4,000,000 tons a year of habanero chilies, two-thirds of Mexico's total output, which brings in US$3.6 million in profits. Of that, 20% is exported. "We are not able to cover 70% of the demand that's out there," says Roger Gonzalez, secretary of rural and fishing development for the eastern Mexican state." Click Here to see the entire inspiring article. Tremendous opportunities exist with just the Habanero Chile but there are a variety of other famous, if perhaps lesser known, chilies in the Yucatán as well as other cash crops in high demand, locally, nationally and for export. Yucatecan Papaya is also internationally famous with a constant and growing export demand , especially to the U.S. Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and numerous other cash crops are also in high demand and because of the unique soil and growing conditions here will most often be sought after while other State´s produce sits on the loading docks until the Yucatecan supply is exhausted. For brevity therefore , we will use the Chile Habanero as our example reminding our esteemed readers that it is just one of many chilies in a wide variety of chilies and other very viable cash crops. Just to clarify, we are not in favor of mono-crop agriculture but favor a bio-diverse crop approach and rotation which we believe, a much more economically viable, sustainable land use strategy. We are using this single crop simply as an example of the vast opportunities available here. Those opportunities multiply and grow with diversification as does one´s near and long term economic security. Goals: Rapid recuperation of initial capital investments and jump-starting of on-going profit generation. Irrigated crops grow year round here with chile harvests 3 times or more per year generally in 4 month cycles from planting through harvest. A constant rotation with year around harvesting activities is also obviously possible. Take full advantage of irrigation resources. Plant chiles and other cash crops under and between rows of Neem trees. Two reasons: #1"Today researchers have proven that Neem is despised by over 200 species of insects and is a safe and effective insecticide and bug repellent that is harmless to humans" Click Here to see entire foundational article. In fact, Neem "kills" (IE. Prevents plant damage by interrupting feeding and reproduction cycles) over 250 kinds of soil born Nematodes alone, so we are suspecting that this very knowledgeable author is referring to mainly "above ground" pests in his inspiring article. Impressive numbers in any case considering that A). Neem only eliminates the "bad" bugs and infestations and leaves the "good bugs" (IE. Predators of the "bad" bugs) in place. B). There is no scientific evidence that plant pests are able to adapt to, or are capable of, developing a resistance to Neem as they regularly do with contaminating, often carcinogenic, Petrochemical-based pesticides. #2. Heat and Sun: The Yucatan climate is hot (even for some of the world´s hottest chiles!) between the end of March-mid-April through about early to mid June when the rainy season begins. Chiles exposed to direct sunlight and 40°-45°C temperatures have a hard time holding their flowers which will otherwise turn into your chili crop. On average and in a very hot season, "flower drop" will cut chili production between 25-40% during the hottest months. If however, the chile plants have the shade of the Neems the loss should be decreased substantially despite the heat and remembering also the added benefit of pest control offered by the protection and proximity of the pesticidal Neem. Reducing flower loss significantly while controlling pests which are also a greater problem during the hottest months, will logically have a significant, positive affect on production levels and therefore profits as well. Chiles ...and other cash crops... may serve as a viable and highly profitable, ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVE to meat production for those who have personal, ethical, and/or environmental issues with this pursuit or involvement. KEY POINT: Profits on all crops will increase by as much as 50-60% over market by the substitution of low-tech, on-site, "farm made" Neem organic pesticides, soil treatments, and composts used in lieu of increasingly expensive and contaminating Petrochemical agricultural products.We calculate that "Farm Made" Organic products will cost 5%-6% of what commercially available pesticides which are primarily Petrochemical-based, contaminate the crops, soils,aqua firs and present a clear and present variety of health risks to workers, their families, and offspring. To Continue CLICK HERE |
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