Reconsidering non-traditional export agriculture and household food security: A case study in rural Guatemala.

Josée Méthot,Elena M Bennett

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0198113

Abstract

As the production of non-traditional export (NTX) crops by smallholder households in developing countries expands, there is a compelling need to understand the potential effects of this type of agricultural production on household food security and nutrition. We use two household surveys with a sample of 52 households, interviews, and focus groups to examine whether smallholder farmers who produce broccoli for export in a rural Guatemalan community have different household food security than farmers in the same community who are still growing traditional maize and bean crops. We explore and compare the food security status of broccoli farmers (adopters) and traditional farmers (non-adopters) across four dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. Adopters earned significantly more income (40%) than non-adopters, but higher incomes did not coincide with improvements in food availability, food access, or food utilization. Results indicate that adopters and non-adopters alike struggle with access to food, while the intensity of broccoli production may be undermining the ability of local agricultural systems to naturally control pests and regulate nutrients. More systematic approaches to food security assessment, especially those that consider all four dimensions of food security, are needed to better target interventions designed to alleviate food insecurity among rural smallholders.

Highlights

The increased commercialization of agriculture and diversification into non-traditional export crops (NTXs) by smallholder farmers has been touted as a growth-oriented strategy to reduce rural poverty and combat food insecurity [1]
While adopters earned significantly more income (40%) than non-adopters, there were no significant differences in other measures of food availability, food access, or food utilization for adopters relative to non-adopters
Webb et al (2016) found that farming NTX crops reduced the amount of land dedicated to growing staple crops in another rural Guatemalan community [25], we found no evidence that broccoli production crowds out the annual production of corn and bean by adopter households in Chilasco

Summary

Introduction

The increased commercialization of agriculture and diversification into non-traditional export crops (NTXs) by smallholder farmers has been touted as a growth-oriented strategy to reduce rural poverty and combat food insecurity [1]. NTXs include high-value, labour intensive fruits and vegetables that are not part of the customary diet of a local farming population, and are not traditionally farmed for export in a given country [2,3]. Global production of NTXs is booming in response to policies aimed at using NTX production to combat poverty and food insecurity: between 1992 and 2001, the worldwide trade in non-traditional vegetables rose sharply, from 7.6 million tonnes in 1992 to 13.9 million tonnes in 2001 [4]. By 2001, 63% of these exports came from developing countries and this share is growing quickly, driven by a recent upsurge in production in Central America and the Caribbean [4,5].

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Conclusion