The key players of the vanilla value chain in the Huasteca Region of Hidalgo meet to promote the value chain and the integration of the value of biodiversity to increase the product’s added value.

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) belongs to the orchid family and is native to Mexico. Until the mid-nineteenth century, Mexico was the only producer of vanilla in the world. Today, however, wild populations of both vanilla and its natural pollinators are in decline.

The Huasteca area in the state of Hidalgo is an ethnically rich region due to its large indigenous population of Nahuatl origin, whose culture, language and handcrafts have left a particular mark on the region. The area is ideal for the production of vanilla through the traditional acahual system (secondary vegetation), which is associated with different crops such as coffee, palmilla camedor (palm species) and cedar.

 

Photo: Regina Sánchez Sosa. The Huasteca Region of Hidalgo is ideal for the production of vanilla through the traditional acahual system, in which different crops such as coffee, palmilla camedor and cedar are associated.

 

The Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Mexican Agricultural Sector (IKI-IBA), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), carried out a workshop to promote the vanilla value chain. The objective of the workshop was for key players in the vanilla value chain to create agreements that promote sustainable production practices and increase the product’s added value, thereby improving incomes and product quality along the chain. The workshop used the GIZ ValueLinks methodology to promote value chains and was part of the call published by GIZ and SADER in August of last year: Integration of the Value of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Value Chains of Agrifood Products.

 

Photo: Marlen Landero. The workshop included participation of key actors from the production, stockpiling, processing and marketing chains; representatives from regulatory institutions at the state and regional level; as well as vanilla experts.

 

The event was held on February 26, 27 and 28, 2019 in Huejutla, Hidalgo. Key actors participated from the production, stockpiling, processing and marketing chains; representatives from regulatory institutions at the federal, state and regional level also participated, as did vanilla experts from different institutions.

 

Photo: Marlen Landero. Participants mapped the vanilla value chain of the Huasteca region of Hidalgo, defined a vision for the future and developed a one-year work plan to fulfill that vision.