El Salvador: Governmental Neglect of Agriculture is Driving the Country Toward a Food Crisis
On the occasion of the International Day of Peasant Struggles, La Cloc – Vía Campesina El Salvador, which brings together peasants, farmers, landless individuals, rural youth and women, Indigenous communities, and other rural populations, issues a grave warning to the public: the systematic abandonment of agriculture by the Salvadoran government is setting the stage for an impending food crisis.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), agricultural production in El Salvador has experienced a sharp decline between the 2019–2020 and 2022–2023 agricultural cycles. Both planted area and crop output have dropped significantly. The country lost more than a thousand manzanas of corn, resulting in over 150,000 quintals of lost yield. Losses were even more severe for other staple crops: nearly 12,000 manzanas of beans were lost, equating to over 200,000 quintals of produce; sorghum, rice, vegetables, fruits, and coffee also suffered substantial reductions. In total, tens of thousands of manzanas have gone out of production, representing millions of quintals of lost food, which directly threatens national food security.
Alongside reduced crop yields, the agricultural sector has also seen a worrying rise in unemployment. Household survey data shows that from 2019 to 2023, over 60,000 jobs were lost in agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing—sectors that form the backbone of rural livelihoods. Within agriculture alone, nearly 50,000 jobs disappeared, further exacerbating poverty and rural insecurity.
The crisis is further compounded by a drastic reduction in credit availability. From 2019 to 2023, agricultural and livestock input costs surged while credit access plummeted by 79%, dropping from $60.3 million to just $12.7 million. While 98% of national bank credit is directed to consumption, commerce, industry, and construction, agriculture receives only a meager 2%, leaving farmers with little support to maintain or grow their production.
Meanwhile, agricultural imports have surged, undermining national producers and making the country increasingly dependent on foreign food. Between 2019 and 2023, the quantity of imports rose by 13%, while the monetary value climbed by 37%, rising from $591 million to $811 million.
As expected, these trends have deteriorated rural living conditions. The percentage of poor households in the countryside grew from 24.8% in 2019 to 28.3% in 2023. Most alarming is the rise in extreme poverty: households unable to meet basic food needs jumped from 5.2% to 11.1% in just four years.
Looking ahead to the 2025–2026 agricultural season, the outlook is bleak. Due to continued government neglect, worsening climate change, and a lack of coherent public policies, peasant organizations estimate that up to 40% of corn and bean-producing areas could be affected. The country may lose up to 6 million quintals of corn and 800,000 quintals of beans. This could affect as many as 100,000 farmers and damage over 160,000 manzanas of staple crops. The government’s only mitigation strategy so far has been increased imports—an approach that not only fails to address the root causes but also further harms small-scale family farming.
In response, La Cloc – Vía Campesina El Salvador issues a series of urgent demands.
First, the creation of a $100 million land fund is needed to allocate land to 200,000 subsistence farmers who currently rent small plots. There must also be a legal obligation for private banks to allocate at least 15% of total credit to agriculture, with provisions for training, insurance, and simplified access—especially for women producers. The current agricultural bonus program must be reimagined as a sustainable and climate-resilient strategy shaped with full participation from the farming community.
To address immediate threats, the government should launch an emergency phytosanitary program to control the screwworm outbreak, as well as a massive initiative to build reservoirs and improve water harvesting for agriculture. The controversial “Technical Regulation on Biosafety of Living Modified Organisms for Agricultural Use” must be overturned, as it facilitates the introduction of genetically modified seeds that threaten native biodiversity.
Farmers must be better integrated into local markets through the creation of a law promoting access to and development of farmers’ markets. This law should establish strategic food reserves to stabilize guaranteed prices for farming families and ensure food availability, while also mandating that at least 30% of public food procurement be sourced from smallholder farmers. The approval of a Food Sovereignty and Security Law and the creation of a national bank of native seeds are also essential measures. Finally, the government must act to halt land harassment and displacement of cooperatives and small farmers by large capital interests.
Without peasants, there is no food!