The United Nations issued an alert in response to a sharp hike in world food prices that has provoked food shortages in Central America. Nicaragua is considered to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the region, according to Laura Clementi of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  High prices for basic grains have resulted in Nicaraguans eating less food.  This is of grave concern because the daily intake of calories is already below required levels, and the situation is getting worse.

With 50% of the population living below the poverty line, children are the most vulnerable, and the FAO estimates that 20% of children are malnourished. For years, the Quest for Peace has supported child-feeding programs in schools aimed at preventing malnutrition and increasing school performance.  However, current efforts to address chronic malnutrition in children on the part of government ministries and NGO's must be augmented in order to respond to a crisis that the UN warns could persist for years.

In contrast to other countries in the Central America, Nicaragua has large tracts of arable land, underscoring the need to support small and medium producers to increase production of basic grains. 

However, the implementation of the "free trade' model in the last two decades has decimated small farmers and increased food dependency in the hemisphere.  Between 1994-2004, food production in developing countries fell an average of 10% while food imports increased by 33% as a result of "free trade" regimes.  (Institute of Development Studies)

Lets be part of the solution!

The Quest for Peace has a long history of supporting peasant organizations in Nicaragua to increase food self-sufficiency and empower the poor.  We also worked with social movements in Nicaragua and the United States to oppose the U.S. - Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), underscoring the negative impacts on national food production.  And we oppose the expansion of NAFTA currently underway through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

In 2006, the Quest assumed national coordination of the Alliance for Responsible Trade (ART), a coalition of over 30 U.S.- based organizations working together to advance sustainable and just trade alternatives and to oppose the "free trade" model promoted by the United States. ART is part of the Hemispheric Social Alliance (HSA), an alliance of networks and social movements from Canada to South America. 

Visit the ART website for more information about "free trade" and how you can be part of the solution!  We post regular updates and action alerts. 

And, support fair trade, not free trade. Visit the Nicaraguan Cultural Alliance for information about fair trade goods from Nicaragua.