|
BACKGROUND
-
The history of the Ojos Negros valley goes back to 1870, when gold was discovered in the area.
This caused the influx of people from other regions, who eventually settled in the area.
-
Later on, the principal economic activity was cattle raising, based on the extensive prairies (dryland farming).
At one time there were more than 40,000 head of cattle in the valley.
-
Irrigated agriculture has developed in earnest in the past 30 years, based on the exploitation of groundwater.
At the beginning, the main crop was fodder for cattle, principally alfalfa,
and the local actors were the ejido proprietors (Ejido Real del Castillo Nuevo).
-
In the past 10 years, there has been a tendency to replace fodder with vegetables,
particularly green onions, watermelon and onions.
This tendency is related to the availability of water, since fodder uses up much more water than vegetables.
-
In the past 6 years, increasingly, land has been rented to
agroindustrial packing companies originating in Tijuana and Mexicali. These companies, which
are of mixed Mexican and foreign capital, grow green onions destined for the export market (United States and Europe).
-
The water table, which in the 1960's was very close to the surface,
is now at more than 30 m depth in some places, and depletion continues.
|
