The Mexican government has announced a new national project to encourage the cultivation and use of as many as 60 plants native to the country.
The native plants for food and agriculture program will aim to recover the value of native Mexican plant species that now form part of the foundation of diets all over the world, according to the Secretariat of Agriculture (Sader)
The project will begin with initiatives to make better use of the poinsettia plant so that people use it for more than just decoration, as it also has “properties for human consumption” and is a medicinal plant.
National Seed Inspection and Certification Service (SNICS) general director Leobigildo Córdova Téllez said Mexico is home to 10% of the world’s plant biodiversity with 2,500 species, many of which are used for food production and agriculture.
He added that Mexico has great potential for the production of ornamental plants such as bromeliads, cactuses, marigolds, dahlias, echeverias and poinsettias, among others.
