Guatemala: Stories of change. Better beans mean better nutrition



View results in:
https://cdais.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CDAIS-Stories-of-Change-Guatemala-13.pdf
Type: 
case studies
Description: 

The ‘dry corridor’ is a region of guatemala that covers part of the departments of Baja Verapaz, Zacapa, El Progreso, Jalapa, Chiquimula, Jutiapa and Santa Rosa. It is vulnerable to drought and, in some parts, communities lack food security, with a high level of extreme poverty. Malnutrition is a significant problem, especially among young children and their mothers. The traditional diet in guatemala and throughout much of Central America is based on maize and beans and, as diversifying this has proved problematic, increasing the nutritive value and yields of these crops is seen as a key approach.

Introducing and promoting new crop varieties is notoriously problematic without the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. For this reason, in 2016, this initiative was selected to be one of the country’s CDAIS innovation partnerships, continuing the work that FAo (the Food and Agriculture organization of the united nations) had started with the ‘Seeds for development’ programme, strengthening the ability of smallholder associations to produce certified seeds. The partnership is also complementary to other initiatives that are working towards the same goals, such as the ‘Biofort’ platform that aims to create permanent collaborative links between the public and private sectors, civil society and farmers, to improve the nutritional quality of food production in guatemala, in order to increase the food and nutritional security of the most vulnerable populations in a sustainable, efficient and participatory manner.

Publication year: 
2018
Keywords: 
capacity development
agricultural innovation systems (AIS)
CDAIS project
TAP-related resource