Large producers not harvesting at full capacity
Deputy Braulio Alvarez says that large producers not harvesting at full capacity
Caracas, 19 May. AVN. - The deputy of the National Assembly stated that the large producers, grouped by example in the Confederation of Associations of Agricultural Producers (Fedagro) have left between 30% and 40 % of their land uncultivated, preferring to engage in "foreign exchange and import activities", which threaten food sovereignty.
In the program "Socialist Debate" broadcast this Saturday night by Venezolana de Television (VTV), the parliamentary and peasant leader stressed the importance of having strong financing for small and medium farms to enable them to grow various crops. "We have the ability to produce more," he said.
He also noted that since Hugo Chavez to power almost four million hectares were liberated from large estates and are beginning to recover "because they were all poisoned" referring to the use of agrotoxic pesticides.
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He noted that there have been important advances since the revolution, such as an increase from 1.6 million to 2.4 million hectares being harvested and 24 million tons of food produced per year up from 17 million beforehand. However, he admitted that this growth has not been sufficient, given the increase in population and consumption by increasing purchasing power of the people, plus the huge state penetration of networks of food distribution.
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http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/diputado-braulio-%C3%A1lvarez-afirma-que-grandes-productores-no-cosechan-su-m%C3%A1xima-capacidad
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I don't know what Venezuelan poor were eating before Chavez changed things but in Guatemala, they're still (Barely) Surviving on Beans and Tortillas
So of course the stores that cater to the rich and middle class are fully stocked. No one else can afford them.
And it's only getting worse
José Antonio Alvarado and his family harvested corn in November on a highway median in Guatemala, where farmers struggle to find land.
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: January 5, 2013
GUATEMALA CITY — In the tiny tortillerias of this city, people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed.
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Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel.
In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest.
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At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. The field Mr. Alvarado used to rent for his personal corn crop now grows sugar cane for a company that exports bioethanol to Europe.
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More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/science/earth/in-fields-and-markets-guatemalans-feel-squeeze-of-biofuel-demand.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
