agriculture

GUATEMALA CITY – Rain is gradually returning to Guatemala after an extended drought in the middle of rainy season brought tragedy to some of the poorest regions of the country. But many agricultural workers say it’s too late to save their harvests.

BOACO, Nicaragua – The last raindrop fell three months ago, forcing Carlos Román to take his cattle further and further away to find water and keep them alive in Nicaragua's northeastern farmlands.

Awaiting a decision on legal reforms from the courts, anti-GMO activists in Costa Rica have taken the fight over transgenic crops to a grassroots level. The latest symbolic victory for those opposed to genetically modified organisms happened on July 25, when President Luis Guillermo Solís signed a decree naming native corn as cultural heritage, a designation managed by the Culture Ministry.

On Tuesday, representatives for four public agencies discussed actions they will take to deal with a severe drought in the northern and central Pacific regions of the country.

In terms of landmass, the Netherlands is smaller than Costa Rica. With only 40,000 square kilometers, the Netherlands is the world’s second largest food exporter, surpassed only by the United States, whose territory is 200 times larger. How'd they do it?

Officials from Costa Rica’s Agriculture and Livestock Ministry this week warned of a shortage of beans in the country, and issued an order to allow tax-free importation from any country in order to meet an estimated shortage of 21,000 tons needed to supply local demand from July to January.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the per-kilogram price of rice in Costa Rica is the seventh highest in the world. The ranking was published in a Rice Market Monitor report released this week.