Mexican avocado farmers fight back

South of the border avocado growers are taking matters into their own hands to protect their crop. Small-scale avocado growers, armed with A-R-15’s now take turns manning a checkpoint. They’re guarding against thieves and drug cartels in the Mexican state of Michoacan. That’s the heartland for world production of avocados. The region’s avocado boom, fuelled by soaring U-S demand, has drawn parts of western Mexico out of poverty in just ten years. But it has also drawn gangs and hyper-violent cartels that have hung bodies from bridges. While Mexican avocado growers have for years lived in fear of assaults and shakedowns, the situation went international in mid-August when a U-S-D-A team of inspectors was “directly threatened” in a nearby town. The U-S-D-A...responding with a letter threatening to suspend its work if there were further incidents. Such a move could block shipments and devastate the industry and the area. It’s estimated Mexico supplies about 43-percent of all world avocado exports.