La Pitaya Citrus Farming Project in Hermosillo, Sonora

Backgropund

Sonora is a strategic state for agriculture, accounting for 9.9% of total arable land in Mexico and ranking fourth in the nation in terms of production value. Due to the pressing need to make the best use the state's water resources and its mostly arid climate, more than 95% of farmland in Sonora uses some type of artificial irrigation system, while only 4.7% are rainfed.

Project Scope

The project consists of converting agricultural production to crops that require less water, supported by investments in more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices. The main components of the project include:

• Crop conversion: Establishment of 257 acres of lemon trees and, 371 acres of orange trees, along with the relocation of 120 acres of chickpeas from La Tinajita to El Águila;
• Water components: Four wells, each with an electric pump, two at each site; drip-tape irrigation systems that will be connected to the fertilization system and have return lines to recirculate the water not used for irrigation; and construction of a water reservoir connected to the irrigation system water return lines with the capacity to hold 33,340 m3 (8.8 million gallons) at the Tinajita site.
• Vermiculture area: thirteen 18x2 meter (59x6 feet) concrete pools to generate leachate from the breakdown of organic waste by worms at the La Tinajita site.
• Solar photovoltaic system: Installation of a 120-koliwatt (kW) solar photovoltaic system with capacity to generate about 160 megawatt-hours during the first year of operation. The system will be made up of 266 modules with 455 watts solar panels and three 40-kW inverters. La Tinajita has a three-phase transformer and electrical substation with the capacity to support the interconnection with the photovoltaic system.
• Worker accommodations: A dormitory area, administrative building, dining hall, infirmary, showers and playing courts for workers, which are mostly used during the harvest and weeding seasons.The lemon trees were planted in La Tinajita in 2022.
  

The lemon trees were planted in La Tinajita in 2022. The orange trees will be planted in La Tinajita in 2025. During 2023, MS La Pitaya planted 642 acres of chickpeas (296 acres in La Tinajita and 346 hectares in El Aguila). Once orange farming is established in La Tinajita, all chickpea farming activities will be developed at El Aguila.

Benefits

With this project, the sponsor expects to use 23% less water per ton of produce harvested, as well as obtain a 140% increase in the market value of the crops. Likewise, drip irrigation will reduce runoff and soil erosion, while eliminating pesticides and synthetic fertilizers will improve soil quality. Establishing a packing plant on site will reduce typical foods losses incurred during transportation. Using solar panels to power the packing plant will prevent emissions related to conventional power generation: approximately 73.45 metric tons/year of greenhouse gases (GHG) (referred as CO2), 0.22 metric tons/year of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 0.58 metric tons/year of sulfur dioxide (SO2).