Family farmers produce more than 70% of Central America’s food. Between 80 and 90% of corn and bean farms are run by family farmers and they, in turn, produce 75 to 80% of these crops.

Most of the households in Central America that produce staple grains live in poverty and experience food insecurity: six out of ten rural households suffer from food insecurity. Paradoxically, family farms in Central America are also where the greatest potential exists for increasing productivity and revitalizing the agricultural sector, contributing toward a steadier supply of food and price stability. Poverty levels in Central America (51%) are significantly higher than in Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole (33%). The situation is even worse in rural areas where an estimated two thirds of the population lives in poverty. With almost 15% of its population undernourished, Central America is well above the average for the entire Latin America and Caribbean region (8%). Infant malnutrition rates are also above those for the rest of the continent, the highest being registered in Guatemala where half of children under five suffer chronic malnutrition

The central issue is the low productivity on family farms. The causes are varied and interconnected, the most noteworthy being: i) high concentration of land ownership both in terms of area and quality (flatlands vs. mountainsides, type of soil, access to water, etc.) to the detriment of family farming; ii) traditional systems of production with low levels of technology; iii) high levels of illiteracy, food insecurity and undernutrition, which result in low labor productivity; iv) degradation of the natural resource base that forms the basis of agricultural production, which in turn increases the level of vulnerability of rural households to climatic variability; v) poor infrastructure and limited access to markets; and vi) scarce attention paid to institutions, insufficient public investment, and limited rural funding. Furthermore, the development of family farming is considered the principal means by which rural livelihoods can be improved. Several Central American countries have completed analyses on the role of family farming in promoting food security and rural development and have designed policies, programs and projects to support this development. Among these initiatives are the Family Farming Plan in El Salvador, Costa Rica’s Family Farming Sector Plan, Guatemala’s Family Farming Program to strengthen the peasant economy, and the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Family, Community and Cooperative Economy. FAO, through the Panama Sub-Regional Office for Central America, is supporting the efforts of Central American governments and that of the Dominican Republic in the development of their family farming sector offering several services, which include capacity-building in extension and productive technology generation; supporting the sustainable intensification of agricultural production, improving access to and use of quality locally-produced seeds; technical capacity-building of livestock development units in the design, construction and management of livestock systems; supporting the formation and consolidation of groups, strengthening productive, administrative, management and marketing capacities; and finally, supporting the sustainable integration of small-scale producers in value chains.