Contrary to the reforestation purpose of the Sowing Life program, organizations and producers report that deforestation is a practice that the program has not been able to eliminate.
Sowing Life was launched by the current administration to address poverty and environmental degradation. To join the program, beneficiaries from rural localities in socially backward municipalities must have 2.5 hectares available to work on an agroforestry project.
Gonzalo Chapela, Public Policy Coordinator of the Mexican Network of Peasant Forest Organizations A.C. (Red Mocaf), said that there have been reports from members of the Network in Chiapas and Veracruz that indicate deforestation due to the program. People remove trees from land to clear them and enroll in the program.
“Yes, it has happened, in many places there have been clearing, and we even have reports of coffee plantations being destroyed to be able to join this scholarship program. I say 60,000 pesos a year is a lot of money for any farmer in the country,” said Chapela, who said that both the evidence available to civil organizations and the complaints from the press deserve a robust investigation by the authorities.
“Even the Federal Supreme Audit Office or the Secretariat of the Public Service should do serious work that frees us from doubts. Possibly, they are extraordinary, exceptional things. But we have a suspicion that it's not an extraordinary thing, but that it's a trend,” Chapela said.
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