Sowing Life

Sowing Life (Spanish: Sembrando Vida) is a Mexican government social and agricultural development program established in 2019 during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. It is administered by the Secretariat of Welfare (Bienestar), proposed to address rural poverty, promote food self-sufficiency, and restore degraded land through sustainable agricultural practices.

The agroforestry program provides financial assistance and agricultural supplies, by supporting community nurseries and facilities, as well as the planting of fruit and timber trees. Participants must own the land and require 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) available to apply.

By September 2026, its coverage had reached 1,139,024 hectares (2,814,590 acres) across 24 Mexican states, with more than 400,000 registered participants. The program has since been expanded to Caribbean and Central American countries, including Belize, Cuba, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Initially, due to its wording, Sowing Life incentivized deforestation by allowing farmers to cut down healthy trees and plant new ones in order to receive subsidies. In one village in Campeche, two-thirds of the participants had cut down trees so they could qualify. According to a World Resources Institute study, 72,830 hectares (180,000 acres) of trees were deforested in eight states. Gustavo Sánchez, president of the Mexican Network of Peasant Forest Organizations, said the selection process also lacked transparency and could potentially be used as a clientelist program to secure votes.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sowing Life Programme (2019-)". United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  2. ↑ Frissard Martínez, Paul (3 October 2023). "Sembrando Vida en México: ¿la ilusión de la sustitución de cultivos ilícitos?". Nexos (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Publican el libro Sembrando vida, una investigación etnográfica acerca del programa forestal". National Institute of Anthropology and History (in Spanish). 8 August 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  4. ↑ Guerrero, Karla (30 December 2021). "Sembrando Vida benefició a más 450 mil campesinos durante 2021". Milenio. Mexico City. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Martínez, Carlos (25 September 2026). "Sheinbaum reabre registro para depositarle 6 mil 450 pesos al mes y otorgarle insumos, herramientas y capacitación a mayores de edad; requisitos y cómo inscribirse". Vanguardia.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Farmers reveal faults, corruption in government's tree-planting program". Mexico Daily News. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Márquez, César (7 September 2026). "Sembrando Vida 2026: confirman fecha del pago en septiembre para todos los beneficiarios" (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Pamplona, Fabián (14 October 2026). "Sembrando Vida en México: cuántos campesinos reciben apoyo y qué estados abarca el programa". Diario del Istmo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "Nuestras voces, desde abajo. Diagnóstico sobre los resultados de Sembrando Vida en Belice, Cuba y Guatemala". United Nations Development Programme (in Spanish). 20 November 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ González, Roxana (24 May 2026). "México revive el programa Sembrando Vida en El Salvador". El Sol de México (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  11. ↑ De Haldevang, Max (8 March 2021). "How Mexico's Vast Tree-Planting Program Ended Up Encouraging Deforestation". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  12. ↑ Warman, Javier; Zúñiga, José Iván; Cervera, Manuel (18 March 2021). "Análisis de los impactos en las coberturas forestales y potencial de mitigación de las parcelas del programa Sembrando Vida implementadas en 2019" [Analysis of the impacts on forest cover and the mitigation potential of plots enrolled in the 'Sembrando Vida' program implemented in 2019] (PDF). World Resources Institute Mexico (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2026.