Introduction

Currently, a wide variety of modified environments are practiced in agriculture, among which greenhouses with or without environmental control with crops in hydroponic systems, inert substrates or in soil stand out, which represent an example of artificial ecosystems to develop intensive agriculture (^{López et al., 2011}). According to the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (^{Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera, 2022}), it is reported that, of the three production cycles of the year, tomato is one of the most important crops (mainly red tomato).

Due to adverse environmental conditions such as extreme temperatures, high rainfall, as well as diseases and pests, open-field tomato cultivation is increasingly difficult to carry out; so protected agriculture has become a necessity for farmers in order to turn the tomato harvest into a modern and competitive technology (^{Criollo and Limones, 2018}).

In Mexico there are some regions with ideal natural conditions for the establishment of greenhouses, such as Sinaloa, Jalisco, Baja California, State of Mexico, Chihuahua, Sonora, Puebla, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato, due to this, protected agriculture has developed in an accelerated way since it allows obtaining quality products for both national and export markets. In this way, the use of greenhouses, shade mesh and other protected agriculture systems are contributing widely to food production and the development of several agricultural areas of the country (^{SAGARPA, 2019}).

Precisely, the protected agricultural area is that area in which the development of the crop is carried out under plastic covers, shade mesh or other material and in controlled environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, light, among other factors), classified into three concepts: shade mesh, high tunnel and greenhouse. Data from ^{SAGARPA (2019)} infer that in 2017 the agrifood sector had a considerable increase, being the largest increase registered in the last 20 years.

There are different definitions of the concept of protected agriculture. ^{Santos et al. (2010}) refers to that structure that is covered by transparent or semitransparent materials, which allows obtaining artificial microclimatic conditions for the cultivation of plants and flowers under optimal conditions. This specialized agricultural system is characterized by having a control of the edaphoclimatic environment, which allows altering the conditions of soil, temperature, solar radiation, wind, humidity, among others, which makes it possible to modify the natural environment in which the crops develop, which results in an adequate plant growth with high yields and a high quality of the products.

Thus, the horticultural industry is one of the most recognized in Mexico, covering 15 000 ha of cultivation, of which 70% are allocated to tomato cultivation (^{Soto et al., 2020}). The state of Baja California is one of the places where red tomato is mostly grown, which has a participation of 15% of the state agricultural value with just over 3.094 billion pesos, covering a planted area of 2 830 ha. Red tomato is produced in the San Quintín Valley, in the city of Ensenada, since of the 220 847 t produced in Baja California, 99.6% are obtained from that valley, the rest is distributed in the other four municipalities: Mexicali, Rosarito, Tijuana and Tecate (^{FIRA, 2019}).

Nevertheless, the main problem faced by farmers in Baja California is drought, where there are high indicators of humidity deficit, aridity and drought; on the other hand, winter storms also occur in the state, which limits the actions of the protected agriculture component (^{Moreno et al., 2011}). Thus, considering the importance of the state of Baja California, but in particular the San Quintín Valley, for tomato cultivation in the face of climatic threats (droughts, high and low temperatures, and heavy rains), a growth opportunity has been detected for farmers through the acquisition of credits and government support for the purchase of protected cultivation systems.

In this sense, the following research questions arise: what is the cost-benefit of implementing a protected cultivation system for vegetable farmers in San Quintín? What are the ideal sources of financing to obtain a protected cultivation system? To answer these questions, the main objective of this research is to analyze the cost-benefit of the implementation of a protected cultivation system for tomato farmers in the San Quintín Valley, in Baja California (Mexico), since with this, it is intended to know the advantages of the implementation of protected cultivation and identify the different options of sources of financing and government support.

Materials and methods

The methodological work consisted of two stages: i) the first began with the collection of bibliographic information regarding the implementation of a protected cultivation system and tomato production in Mexico, but particularly in the San Quintín Valley; ii) the second stage was oriented towards the collection of data through questionnaires, limiting the study to small and medium tomato producers under a protected cultivation system in the San Quintín Valley; and iii) the third stage consisted of the analysis of calculations and historical figures of a company engaged in protected agriculture, located in San Quintín (Baja California), which was taken as a case study to obtain the cost-benefit calculation and determine its profitability.

The questionnaires were applied in person to eight producers affiliated and registered in the register of producers and food products of Baja California of the Secretariat of Countryside and Food Security of 2020, being the total of the sample. It is worth mentioning that only five are registered, but for the convenience of the sample three more were added, which did not give consent to mention them in this work.

The questionnaire was structured in two sections: the first consisted of collecting information on the company in question, including aspects of main activity, type of company, size of the company, majority control, independent company or part of a group of partners, number of boxes produced during the last three years and age of the same. In the second section, the interviewees were asked to give their opinion on the implementation of a protected cultivation system and their possible forms of financing. Finally, the analysis of the data was done through the Excel software, which made it possible to obtain reliable and orderly information.

Results and discussion

Regarding the results of this research and considering all the producers surveyed, it was found that 87% are family companies engaged in agriculture, of which 56% have 11 to 20 ha of protected crops, 22% have 1 to 10 ha and 22% have 21 to 30 ha. It is important to mention that all the farmers used as a sample in this work currently have a protected cultivation system. In relation to the main crops that are grown under shade mesh systems, tomato is the most prevalent with 42%, followed by cucumber with 40%, in third position squash with 14% (planted from December to February due to cold weather), and finally peas with 4%.

As for the financing of the cost of the shade mesh, most respondents said that for each new shade mesh house acquired they used different ways of obtaining resources, so the results were determined considering the number of hectares and the form of purchase. In this sense, the results infer that 36% obtained it by paying a percentage with the company’s capital and another percentage through bank credit, in 29% it was fully covered by the company; 14% with support from a client; that is, through the settlement of the purchase and sale of products (tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes and peas), another 14% by using a percentage of the company’s capital, another percentage with government support and another from bank credit and finally, the remaining 7% used a percentage of the company’s capital and another percentage of government support.

It is important to note that 86% of respondents have requested government support, but only 38% have been accepted for the farmer, the other 72% were rejected. In this sense, they were asked to assign a value from highest to lowest importance of the benefits of agriculture protected with shade mesh for tomato production, obtaining the following result: higher production volumes (33%), increased quality in production (27%), pest and disease control (19%), climate control (12%), reduction of use of water (7%) and others (2%).

It should be added that cucumber production was not the subject of study, but the total of respondents stated that the advantages are the same for both tomato and cucumber production, which is related to the study by ^{López et al. (2011}) in Mexico, which also highlights the importance of the use and employment of protected cultivation through greenhouses, shade mesh and high tunnel.

As for the results of the analysis of the figures of the agricultural company of the San Quintín Valley, it is necessary to mention that it had projected a profit of $3 000 000.00 for the acquisition of a shade mesh house with an area of approximately four hectares. In this order of ideas, considering the result of the calculation of the cost-benefit ratio, it is determined that it is a project that is feasible and necessary to be carried out. In this study it was found that: i) the cash flow indicator foresees that the company can meet its obligations without problem, since it showed a balance of $4 863 363.00 at the end of the cycle, the amount of monthly flow is higher than its minimum fixed cost needs; ii) the results of the annual flows showed a positive net present value of $21 621 090.00, which means that the project is a generator of dividends, this affects profitability, making the company grow; iii) the internal rate of return was 54%, which is higher than the minimum acceptable rate of return of 15%.

These indicators make the project viable. Consequently: iv) the utility/cost or cost/benefit ratio is 1:8 or otherwise called 1 to 8, this means that the company generates eight units for each unit invested; and v) regarding the economic break-even point, it is indicated that the company will be able to recover its costs when it reaches 13 148 boxes sold or also when its sales revenues reach $2 169 409.00.

Among other aspects, the implementation of the project will allow the company to expand the agricultural horizon, face competition, be part of technological innovation in terms of protected agriculture, since daily technified agriculture acquires a greater market given the conditions of quality and productivity that are handled both nationally and internationally. In this sense and taking into consideration ^{Ro et al. (2021}); ^{Cih-Dzul et al. (2011}), greenhouse tomatoes may be more profitable than other agronomic crops; that is, greenhouse tomatoes aim to achieve high yields per unit area, as well as excellent quality through climate and nutrition control.

Tomato is easier to grow compared to cucumber or lettuce, and yields can be very high. Worldwide, the demand for tomato is high because of its quality of consumption due to the nutrients and health benefits.

It should be mentioned that, according to ^{Armendariz-Erives (2007}), advances in agricultural activity have contributed to environmental degradation and in the next 30 years food needs will double, representing a great challenge to meet the demand of a greater population with less agricultural land and water. It is for this reason that the company can have breath of future success in terms of the development of protected agriculture, at the same time that technology reaches high levels that increase and improve the quality and production of both products and services offered, which is related to what ^{Ramírez-Vargas (2019)} affirms.

The largest plantings are led by tomato crops through protected agriculture with about 89% of the area planted and the rest in the open field; it should also be noted that tomato crops grown around the world are vulnerable to various diseases and pest attacks and with it the losses caused by these insects, which is related to the study by ^{Lugo-Sánchez et al. (2019}) in the municipality of Sinaloa. Likewise, rescuing the affirmation by ^{Ro et al. (2021}) that the use of crops protected with shade mesh in greenhouses reduces the use of pesticides or pesticides, so this leads to the protection of crops in a sustainable manner and biological products free of these compounds, reducing the adverse impact on human health by consumers and the environment in general.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it is highlighted that the main benefits of the implementation of a protected cultivation system in the San Quintín Valley are that higher production volumes are obtained, and the quality of products is improved. Regarding the financing to obtain this protected cultivation system, it was found that most choose to use the capital of their company and the financing of a bank, and government support as another option; nevertheless, farmers find it difficult to access government support, in addition to the fact that they are very scarce, and the procedures are cumbersome.

One of the most relevant aspects when presenting a project is to structure the payment method well, so it is recommended that it be: 50% support from the government and 50% from the company, bank or financial support. Likewise, the implementation of a project for an agricultural company that grows tomatoes will allow it to broaden its horizon and face competition, adapt to modern production processes through a technified agriculture, being able to reach new consumer markets with higher quality products.