Tepic, Mexico - President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled his "New Countryside Program" in Nayarit this week, which is designed to benefit the state’s agricultural sector.

The New Countryside Program will involve the construction of an agricultural park in Nayarit that will use cutting edge technology to improve food production and distribution at the regional level. The program also calls for the construction of the "Centenario Canal," which Peña Nieto said will eventually be able to irrigate 120,000 acres of farmland - benefiting more than 7,000 farmers.

Peña Nieto said that the construction of the $537-million canal will increase the amount of irrigated farmland in the state by almost 50 percent, which he estimates will quintuple corn production, triple rice production, and increase bean yields two and a half times over.

According to the President, Mexico’s farmers represent the most underdeveloped and poorest social sector in the country. He said the goal of these two projects is to guarantee higher incomes in the agricultural sector - in this way contributing to the development of Mexico.

"Agriculture is the sector that currently contributes least to the nation’s wealth," he added, "but it’s what Mexican families depend on for their subsistence."

He stressed that large agribusiness corporations won’t be the only beneficiaries; stresing that, "The policies aimed at the country’s ranching, fishing, and agricultural activities mean improvements for small and medium-sized producers."

The Centenario Canal, Peña Nieto said, will make farmers less dependent on climactic conditions and less susceptible to the threat represented by climate change.