AGENCY
National.- Around 25 crops that are essential for the diet of Mexicans are at risk due to the threat to pollinators, such as bees, flies, butterflies, hummingbirds, beetles and bats. Among these foods are tomato, chili, avocado, coffee, cocoa, beans, and various fruits such as guava, mango and orange, among others.
Mauricio Quesada Avendaño, researcher at the Ecosystem and Sustainability Research Institute, explained that pollinators are crucial for the reproduction of flowering plants, a process that allows the production of fruits and seeds. According to the expert, almost 300,000 species of flowering plants depend on these animals to transport pollen between flowers, which promotes fertilization and maintains genetic diversity.
Quesada highlighted that, in addition to bees, other species such as flies, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats play a fundamental role in the pollination of different plants. He warned that the disappearance of these pollinators would affect global food diversity, putting products such as coffee, chocolate and various fruits and vegetables at risk.
Mexico, with a great diversity in agricultural production, depends heavily on these pollinators. The main tomato producing states are Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California; cocoa, Tabasco and Chiapas; of coffee, Chiapas, Veracruz and Puebla; and avocado, Michoacán and Jalisco, among others.
The threat to pollinators not only puts agriculture at risk, but also indicates the health of local ecosystems, underscoring the need to protect them to ensure the continuity of these essential crops.
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