Improving living conditions
in Guatemala

In Guatemala, 50.9% of the population lives below the poverty line, and 93% are in rural areas. This explains the importance of agriculture in the economy. But production, mostly by small-scale producers practising subsistence agriculture, suffers from low productivity, held back by obsolete infrastructure and by low levels of education and social spending in rural areas.

ON THE GROUND

The action priorities of Uniterra’s partners are to strengthen production and marketing capacity for agricultural products by focusing on exports, market access and the social economy, to support the social economy through political dialogue and to promote access and participation by g/ women in civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Involvement by Uniterra partners and volunteers has brought numerous results. These include a major promotion of fair trade and of small and medium-sized Guatemalan businesses as well as the institutionalization of fair trade in the Ministry of the Economy through creation of the Fair Trade Commission. In addition, it has been possible engage in fair trade abroad of certain local products (such as organic coffee), notably in Canada.