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Sustainability
Volume 17
Issue 21
10.3390/su17219481
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Complementary Agriculture (AgriCom): A Low-Cost Strategy to Improve Profitability and Sustainability in Rural Communities in Semi-Arid Regions

by
Fernanda Díaz-Sánchez
1,
Jorge Cadena-Iñiguez
1,*,
Víctor Manuel Ruiz-Vera
1,
Héctor Silos-Espino
2,
Brenda I. Trejo-Téllez
1,
Alberto García-Reyes
1,
José Luis Yagüe-Blanco
3 and
Julio Sánchez-Escudero
4
1
Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus San Luis Potosí. Iturbide #73, Col. Centro, Salinas de Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí 78600, Mexico
2
Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes, Km. 18 Carretera Ags-S.L.P., El Llano Aguascalientes 20330, Mexico
3
Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Campus Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Av. Puerta de Hierro, # 2-4, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
4
Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, km. 36.5 Carretera México-Texcoco, Montecillo, Texcoco 56264, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(21), 9481; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219481 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 28 August 2025 / Revised: 30 September 2025 / Accepted: 20 October 2025 / Published: 24 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Sustainable Agriculture)
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Abstract

The rural population in semi-arid areas of Mexico suffers from poverty levels that hinder a dignified life, leading to migration and abandonment of their resources. This is exacerbated by climate change (droughts and high temperatures), which negatively impacts crops. While farmers attempt to adapt, their strategies are insufficient. A low-cost Complementary Agriculture (AgriCom) model was designed, using local resources to produce prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.) and corn (Zea mays L.), while simultaneously conserving regional germplasm of Opuntia spp. A randomized block design with three replications was used. Each block included seven varieties, with 125 plants per variety. Corn was grown as a monocrop in the same experimental site. Graphical analysis, analysis of variance with mean comparison test in RStudio, a profitability analysis, and a Land Equivalent (ELU) analysis were performed. The varieties Verdura, Atlixco, and Rojo Liso showed higher yield, internal rate of return, and net present value; their benefit–cost ratios were 7.97, 6.35, and 6.82, respectively. The ELU was greater than 1.0 when combining the prickly pear varieties. Agroclimatic conditions did not allow the corn to complete its phenological cycle, and its ELU was zero. Seventy prickly pear genotypes, with three replicates each, representing eight Opuntia species, were collected and integrated into the periphery of the production unit. This model was accepted by the Climate Action Platform for Agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean (PLACA) for implementation in other communities.
Keywords: AgriCom; sustainable production; agricultural profitability; ELU; rural communities AgriCom; sustainable production; agricultural profitability; ELU; rural communities
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MDPI and ACS Style

Díaz-Sánchez, F.; Cadena-Iñiguez, J.; Ruiz-Vera, V.M.; Silos-Espino, H.; Trejo-Téllez, B.I.; García-Reyes, A.; Yagüe-Blanco, J.L.; Sánchez-Escudero, J. Complementary Agriculture (AgriCom): A Low-Cost Strategy to Improve Profitability and Sustainability in Rural Communities in Semi-Arid Regions. Sustainability 2025, 17, 9481. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219481

AMA Style

Díaz-Sánchez F, Cadena-Iñiguez J, Ruiz-Vera VM, Silos-Espino H, Trejo-Téllez BI, García-Reyes A, Yagüe-Blanco JL, Sánchez-Escudero J. Complementary Agriculture (AgriCom): A Low-Cost Strategy to Improve Profitability and Sustainability in Rural Communities in Semi-Arid Regions. Sustainability. 2025; 17(21):9481. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219481

Chicago/Turabian Style

Díaz-Sánchez, Fernanda, Jorge Cadena-Iñiguez, Víctor Manuel Ruiz-Vera, Héctor Silos-Espino, Brenda I. Trejo-Téllez, Alberto García-Reyes, José Luis Yagüe-Blanco, and Julio Sánchez-Escudero. 2025. "Complementary Agriculture (AgriCom): A Low-Cost Strategy to Improve Profitability and Sustainability in Rural Communities in Semi-Arid Regions" Sustainability 17, no. 21: 9481. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219481

APA Style

Díaz-Sánchez, F., Cadena-Iñiguez, J., Ruiz-Vera, V. M., Silos-Espino, H., Trejo-Téllez, B. I., García-Reyes, A., Yagüe-Blanco, J. L., & Sánchez-Escudero, J. (2025). Complementary Agriculture (AgriCom): A Low-Cost Strategy to Improve Profitability and Sustainability in Rural Communities in Semi-Arid Regions. Sustainability, 17(21), 9481. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219481

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