Cempasúchil covers Mexico on the Day of the Dead, but climate change puts it at risk

Lucía Ortíz advances with effort between extensive fields of marigolds, whose flowers of an intense orange tone fill the landscape. Its petals, symbol of this season for Day of the Deadspread throughout the streets and cemeteries throughout Mexico.

In winding canals and farms on the fringes of Mexico City, the flower also known as Mexican marigold, It has been cultivated for generations and takes center stage each year in the Day of the Dead celebrations.

But as Ortíz, 50, and other farmers busily gather bunches of the plant to sell in the capital’s markets, they silently wonder what will be left of your livelihood in the future.

The reason is that marigold growers have been affected by torrential rains, prolonged drought and other impacts of climate change caused by the burning of fuels such as gas, oil and coal, which have become increasingly common.

Farmers, who depend on the ups and downs of the climate for their crops, they are on the front line of the climate crisis. This year alone, marigold growers said they lost up to half of their flower crop due to heavy rains and flooding.

“This year we have lost a lot. In fact, it took us a lot of work to grow the marigold crop because there were times when we couldn’t afford some fertilizers,” commented Ortíz. “The marigold plant sometimes leaves us with nothing.”

Profits from the sale of cempasuchil

The orange flower has become a symbol of the Mexican celebration of November 1 and 2. Also known as “the flower of the dead”, it is believed that the marigold It is a point of connection between the world of the dead and the living, with bright petals that illuminate the path of souls to the altars prepared by their loved ones.

Flowers are also a major economic driver throughout Mexico, with trade groups predicting they will generate nearly $2.7 million for farmers by 2025.

Ortíz and his family began growing the flower 30 years ago on their small plot of land in Xochimilco, south of Mexico City, where residents still use ancient agricultural techniques in canals that wind through farmland like a labyrinth.

Every year, locals start planting marigold seeds in July and grow the plants for when the rainy season comes to an end. But they say they have been hit hard for years in a row, as heavy rains, drought, floods and other climate changes have made it increasingly difficult to keep their crops alive.

This year, torrential rains that lasted for months devastated more than 37,000 acres of crops across the country, according to government figures. On a visit to marigold fields earlier this month in Xochimilco, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said up to 2 million marigold plants were at risk. Despite that, he said this year’s production simultaneously broke a record of 6 million plants, as farmers increase production to meet growing demand, even as cultivation of the flower has become more precarious.

Ortíz said that Excess rain has generated pests and diseases, and rotted the roots of its plants. He estimates he lost at least 30% of his crop, while others say they have lost close to 50 percent.

The family has been forced to spend money on insecticides, fertilizers and more to save their crops. As they have done so, already tight profit margins have turned into losses, and they have had to cut back on basics like beef and candy to make ends meet.

“If I were to look at all my losses, I would be disappointed. And then, at that moment, maybe I wouldn’t even feel like cultivating them anymore,” she said. “We try to put a lot of effort into keeping this going.”

The work of science for the marigold flower

Just down the road from Ortíz’s farm, government scientists are looking for solutions beyond the short-term economic relief provided by the local administration. At a small seed bank known as Toxinachcal, men in white suits meticulously examine sprouts in a laboratory dish.

Scientists have been working for a year and a half and accumulating thousands of seed variants of native plant species, including 20 variants of cempasuchilin jars lining giant freezers in the hope that the storage facility will be a key tool in combating the most adverse effects of climate change.

Biologist Clara Soto Cortés, head of the seed bank, said part of the reason the crop has been devastated is because farmers in recent years have chosen to use a hybrid variant of marigold seed from the United States.

The seed produces a shorter, more uniform-looking plant that is easier to sell en masse and in places like supermarkets.

But that means farmers have moved away from hardier native varieties, which have longer stems and vary widely in color, size and texture. The genetic diversity of these Mexican varieties makes them more resistant to drastic climate changes like those seen this year, Soto said.

“These native seeds are seeds adapted to different geographical contexts, that is, they can grow in high areas, in low areas, in areas where there is enough humidity or in areas where there is none, there are seeds that are resistant to insects,” he explained.

“The other seed (the hybrid) has been configured for a purpose. It does not have the genetic diversity that this one has to face climate change,” he indicated.

If more weather events, such as the floods that shook farmers, wipe out an entire crop, Soto said the bank will make seeds available to local producers to recover their crops, this time with a more resistant variant that their ancestors have grown for centuries.

Meanwhile, growers are struggling to recover in the short term and say the losses also pose a threat to the farming tradition their families have struggled to maintain on the edge of the dense city of 23 million people.

Other options for cempasuchil

Carlos Jiménez, 61, has been working in the fields of Xochimilco for a long time, but he started growing the shorter marigold eight years ago, when he noticed that the hybrid was more marketable. Because he has lost more crops and has had to lower the price of plants due to mold that builds up on their roots, he said he has begun to consider ways to adapt, such as building greenhouses.

“If they get sick, they rot and the business is over”Jimenez said. “Tradition is over, you can say, because it affects the economy a lot.”

Producers like Ortíz have considered the same thing. But their losses mean they don’t have money for more infrastructure. His family and other farmers have asked local authorities for help, but say they have received only pennies on the dollar of what they need to recover. Although the local government has said that it continues working to help mitigate the blow that affects farmers.

Ortíz says he has begun to look at other options for growing and that they are more resistant than the corrugated orange flowers.

Instead, Jiménez says that, although the roots of his plants rot, for now he stands firm, as he believes the plant has a deeper meaning for the dearly departed.

“The traditions have been there since our ancestors, tradition will never be affected.”

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