New York, Oct 25 2010 2:10PM
To check rising rural poverty and hunger in Nicaragua, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping the country's Government to support small-scale farmers boost their production of beans, maize, rice and other staple crops.
The agency said that there are 52.5 million hungry people in Latin America, citing high food prices and the global recession as among the main reasons for the region's increasing food insecurity.
Although Nicaragua has made strides in the fight against hunger and poverty, it is still the second poorest country in the region after Haiti.
In Nicaragua, poverty is a rural phenomenon, with two out of three people in the country-side living on less than $1 a day.
FAO is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union (EU) to help farmers' associations increase their yields through a two-year, €3 million scheme which will, among other activities, focus on the delivery of high-quality seeds as well as the provision of technical support and marketing assistance.
During the planting season which lasted from May to June, nearly 5,000 hectares of land were planted with improved bean, maize and rice seeds provided by FAO to more than 4,000 farmers.
Although no results are available yet, Leonard Fagot, the agency's project coordinator, said he is optimistic. "Many farmers will come and work with us again," he said.
Oct 25 2010 2:10PM
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