The State of Food Security in Guatemala: Policy Issues

Dr. Ottoniel Monterroso Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment

Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala

With the collaboration of IICA-Guatemala and IICA-Canada

McGill Conference on Global Food Security. Montreal, October 7, 2011

Overview

• Food security indicators

• Causes of food insecurity

• Policy responses

• Conclusions

Source: FAO, 2011. The state of food insecurity in the world. Economic and Social Development Department. FAO, Rome.

Haiti Guatemala Bolivia Nicaragua

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Services Manufactures Agriculture Other Mines

GDP Structure by economic activity, 2007 y 2008 (%)

Economic (GDP) Indicators

Services represents almost 60% of GDP Agriculture represents 13% GDP World Bank classifies Guatemala as a middle income economy

Source: Banguat, 2010

Food Production Indicators

Imports and exports represent less than 1% of maize and dry bean production Production has increased due to (among other things) international prices Therefore, 1: At the national level, food availability is not a problem in Guatemala

Souce: Cepal, 2009

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Production of basic grains in Guatemala, 1996-2008(Thousand Metric Tonnes)

Beans Maize

Who are the food insecure in Guatemala?

Food insecurity is located in the Highlands 70% of undernourishment among indigenous people Children: 49% of children under 5 years old with chronic undernourishment (even worse than Haiti)

Food Insecurity Map

Who are the food insecure in Guatemala?

• Food insecurity is mainly rural and indigenous: – Landless peasants – Subsistence peasants

• To a lesser degree, poor urban belts

(rural – urban migration)

Therefore, 2: One of main causes of food insecurity is food access

Poverty Map

Poverty and food security policy responses

• Policy changes over the last 20 years:

• Peace Accords (1996) • Neoliberal reforms (1996) • Agricultural policies

• Emphasis on:

• Social policy: income transfers (red line)

• Infrastructure policy: rows (blue line)

• Less emphasis in agriculture (green line)

Source: Monterroso, 2009

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Rural Public Expenditure, 1990–2009(Constant Quetzales)

Social Expenditure Infrastructure Agricultural productivity

Where is international cooperation investing ?

• Bilateral cooperation (blue bar): • Emphasis in agricultural

productivity and infrastructure

• Multilateral cooperation (red bar): • Emphasis in social programs, such

as health and food

• Emphasis in social policy 0%

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Productive Infrastructure Social

Bilateral and multilateral priorities in Guatemala (%)

Bilateral Multilateral

Source: IICA/USAID, 2008

Policy responses

• Guatemalan Rural policy: • US$ 272 /capita

• Latin American average: • US$140/capita

• Policy actions: – Short-term: Food provision, income transfers – Long-term: Agricultural policies (job creation)

• Therefore, 3: – Rural and food security policy is focused on effects rather on causes – Policies do not directly benefit the food insecure

Agriculture and long-term food security

• Agriculture has multiplier effects that generate agricultural and non-agricultural employment

• 2.5% economic growth in agriculture: • 5% net increase in jobs (rural and urban)

• 8.0% economic growth in non-agricultural sector: • 2.3% net increase in jobs (mainly urban)

• 5% growth in remittances: • 2% increase in jobs

Source: Barrios & Mellor (2006).

Differentiated policies

• Food transfer • Creation of agricultural jobs

• Emphasis on food security at the farm level

• Food transfers

• Agricultural policies to increase productivity and production

• Training

Agricultural policies to increase

productivity and production

Subsistence peasants

Transitional farmers

Commercial farmers

Landless peasants They benefit from job creation. In many cases, they receive remittances

• Production for own consumption • But income is not enough for food requirements • They require agricultural jobs; receive remittances

• Market orientation • But still have problems to fully link to markets • Dependency on public policies

• They generate surplus for markets • They have access to financial and input markets • Agriculture generates main share of income

However…

• Guatemala is a country of ‘activism’

• There are many projects addressing different aspects of food

security and agricultural development

• What works and why are not well understood

• There is a lack of scientific analysis and objective discussions

of policies and practices at the local level

Conclusions

• Guatemala presents some of the worst food security indicators in the hemisphere, along with Haiti, Nicaragua and Bolivia

• Food insecurity is due to food access (poverty) rather than food availability

• Policy responses have centered on symptoms, such as food provision and income transfers

• Causes of food insecurity can be addressed via the agricultural sector; differentiated by kind of peasant economy

• There is a need of analysis and discussions on food policies

Thank you