Mexico is a North American country nestled between the Pacific Ocean on the West and the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea on the East. The country borders the United States on the North and Guatemala and Belize on the South.
Demographic Profile
The country has a total area of 1,220,605 square miles of land, and ranks 14th in the world for most land behind Russia, Canada and China among other countries (Central Intelligence Agency).
Mexico is almost three times the size of Texas. In July of 2015, Mexico had a population of 121 million, or about six people per square mile. The country is ranked among the top 45th percentile for infant mortality with an average of 1.22 percent, and among the top 13th percentile …show more content…
Mexico’s trade economy is highly linked to the United States. As of August of 2015, Mexico was the United States’ third largest source of imports, behind Canada and China, holding 13 percent of the United States’ imports.
History and Economic Conditions
Economically, Mexico fell far behind the United States in the late 19th century. Its war for independence ravished the colony's mining and agricultural economy. Internal commerce was limited by the scarcity of navigable rivers. The bulk of Mexico's population lived in the highlands, so transportation was expensive.
In the early 19th century, Mexico fought wars with Spain, France and Texas. In 1847, the United States took over half of its territory. Moreover, indigenous wars raged throughout Mexico for most of the century.
As a result of Mexico’s drawn out history of instability, the country has had little economic …show more content…
There are several challenges as well as opportunities for Mexican agriculture development to thrive.
Some of the country’s challenges include unfavorable land, unfavorable weather and corruption. Although the weather conditions in Mexico vary drastically throughout the country, it is more difficult to change a country’s environment than it is to change people’s perceptions.
A country needs to have strong leadership and equally strong personal values to grow and succeed. Mexican government often times is too preoccupied with finding the root of local violence and, subsequently, turning a blind eye and adding to the country’s corruption, that they miss out on important agricultural issues. Mexico still needs to follow through implement a wide set of structural reforms, but they can’t do it alone.
According to the Secretaria de Agricultura, Ganaderia, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentacion, the current agricultural support system is insufficiently result-oriented, thus lacking both efficiency and effectiveness. Mexico’s government should address farmers’ needs in terms of access to knowledge about improved production techniques, improved seed varieties, soil conservation and more efficient ways to further agriculture given their environmental