TITLE:
Identification of Suitable Areas for the Cultivation of Oryza sativa L. under Irrigation in the State of Campeche, Mexico
AUTHORS:
Genovevo Ramírez-Jaramillo, Alejandro Cano-González, Jorge Humberto Ramírez-Silva, Mónica Guadalupe Lozano-Contreras
KEYWORDS:
Regionalization, GIS, Rice, Irrigation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.12 No.8,
August
13,
2025
ABSTRACT: The federal and state governments of Campeche are proposing the implementation of the Campeche Plan, where one of its objectives is to promote rice production to support ejidatarios and farmers. In the state of Campeche, around 81,000 hectares were planted in 1980 and in 2023, according to SIAP, only 980 ha were planted in the P-V cycle and 290 ha in the O-I cycle, and 1530 ha were planted under irrigation in the P-V cycle and 4550 ha in the O-I cycle. A total of 8620 ha was planted in 2023; this area has been reduced year by year. If we compare it with that achieved in the 80’s, it is due, among other aspects, to the fact that the area was mostly planted under rainfed conditions with high loss rates, low yields, low product prices, low profitability, in addition to the increase in rice imports from the United States, Vietnam and China, among others. If we consider that the history of rainfed crops generally led to economic losses, an important part of Plan Campeche is where the best conditions exist to produce high-potential rice with the help of irrigation to reduce the risk of drought losses, higher production and productivity, and to be profitable for the rice producer. In this study, three fundamental stages were considered to define the areas with potential: 1) identify altitude, temperature, luminosity and soil requirements for rice cultivation, 2) locate databases of agroclimatic conditions in the state of Campeche, and 3) process the data with QGIS Batioweiza 3.22.14 software. It was detected that in the state of Campeche there are only about 26,000 hectares under irrigation, most of which are planted with sugar cane, fruits and vegetables, so it would be necessary to propose a productive conversion process from rainfed to irrigation for 112,319 hectares, especially in the municipalities of Campeche, Champotón, Carmen, Palizada, Escárcega and Hopelchén.