Ahome Farmers and Liconsa Formalise La Despensa Milk-Centre Agreement
The agreement formalises the use of the site and facilities assigned to La Despensa, in the municipality of Ahome in northern Sinaloa. It was signed by representatives of local cattle farmers and officials from Liconsa, which forms part of the federal social-supply network Leche para el Bienestar. The contract establishes the operational and property arrangements for the centre.
The project includes physical adaptations to the site, the installation of continuous-cooling equipment and the formal opening of milk reception. The planned infrastructure includes large thermal storage tanks and rapid-testing laboratories. These facilities are intended to assess the safety, density, solids balance and acidity of raw milk delivered to the centre.
The reported need for cooling infrastructure is linked to the region’s high temperatures. According to the report, limited access to cold storage near farms had contributed to early souring and significant losses in milk from small family operations. The new centre is designed to provide a collection point where producers from Ahome and nearby valleys can deliver milk under Liconsa’s requirements.
Direct delivery to the Liconsa facility would also reduce the role of informal intermediaries in the local market. The report says such buyers often paid substantially less per litre, particularly during periods when forage production increased. Producers supplying the centre are expected to receive the full federal Guaranteed Price for qualifying milk, rather than an amount reduced by intermediary purchasing arrangements.
The centre is also connected with the adoption of Good Livestock Practices promoted among cattle associations in northern Sinaloa. Milk supplied to it must be free of veterinary-drug residues and have low bacterial counts. These conditions require attention to milking hygiene, the management of subclinical mastitis and the sanitary status of dairy herds.
The project involves dairy herds and dual-purpose livestock units in Ahome and surrounding valleys. The report describes the centre as part of efforts by agricultural authorities and organised producers to establish formal channels for purchasing and cold storage, while supplying the national social-milk network with locally produced milk.
