Modern Slaughterhouse Construction Halted

Two modern slaughterhouses are in the works in the zona oriental of El Salvador - in San Miguel and Pasaquina. The idea is that these two slaughterhouses would serve the entire eastern zone of the country, thereby abolishing all of the small slaughterhouses scattered throughout the countryside. As I outlined in a previous blog post about the typical Salvadoran slaughterhouse, the conditions are unhygienic, inhumane, and environmentally damaging. They are little more than cement floors (at best) with a roof, open to the air otherwise, with no treatment for the waste being washed from the floors into a drain. The water washes away the blood, feces, and I most like bleach or other cleaners as well, directly into a nearby creek. And while many industrialized nations are still debating the best way to slaughter animals (see recent BBC news article), in these slaughterhouses, they are stabbed in the brain and then exsanguinated by slitting the throat. Nothing about these primitive slaughterhouses are good, except that they get the job done and they are numerous, so people do not have to travel very far to get their livestock slaughtered.

All in a day's work - local Salvadoran slaughterhouses.

However, a modern slaughterhouse would ensure clean, well-treated meat was being delivered to the market, and potentially open the doors for an export market. As it is now, because El Salvador does not have any certified slaughterhouses, no meat can be exported, and the meat that large supermarkets and restaurants sell is imported - mostly from Nicaragua. So, El Salvador is losing out. Modernization could bring more sales to local farmers. However, if the entire eastern part of the country only had two slaughterhouses, it would put a strain on farmers who would need to travel great distances on poor roads to reach the slaughterhouse. This might have the opposite effect of reducing farmers' incomes because those who don't intend to export or sell to local supermarkets would now have a much higher input cost. A rancher from the San Miguel, Juan Andres Salazar, said exactly that; the costs incurred from transporting the animals to the slaughterhouse and the meat back, would make his profit margin narrow to almost nothing.

However, the debate may be moot because the process to complete the environmental impact assessments of the two proposed sites has been slow, and now that elections are on the horizon, local law prohibits the bidding process from happening for government projects during that time. Additionally, three government ministries have to approve the project - the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The project is also being funded by the Social Investment Fund for Local Development, who provide further input into the project. So, nothing may move forward in terms of constructing these slaughterhouses until April of 2012. In my opinion, modernizing animal slaughter is a very important step and I am glad that the government is making an effort to do away with the unsanitary slaughterhouses. But I wonder if they couldn't modernize several small slaughterhouses instead. Apart from making life more difficult for already struggling ranchers and farmers in the poorest zone of the country, having all the region's meat concentrated in just two locations is akin to putting all your eggs in one basket. It's just not a safe food system. One sick animal that gets into the slaughterhouse could destroy thousands of pounds of otherwise perfectly edible meat. Furthermore, in a country where enforcement is practically nil, traceability becomes a major issue. If a disease is introduced, how easy will it be to find its source? This opens the doors to potential epidemics and is overall far too risky for a country such as El Salvador. Sadly, I don't think those government officials are reading my blog :)

GMOs coming soon to a farm near you?

Staring in the face of nearly $200 billion dollars in losses in the agricultural sector due to the rains of October, the Salvadoran government is considering trials of genetically modified crops. Some people believe this to be the magic bullet for the struggling agriculture industry in the country. Corn, beans, rice, sugarcane, and coffee are the top five crops, and genetically engineered varieties of four of those crops exist (although coffee is barely in its initial field trial stage and sugarcane isn't predicted to be commercially available until 2020). So, the government is looking mostly towards GMO corn, and potentially herbicide-resistant rice as a way to combat the challenges these crops are facing due to the changing climate and increasing population. Traditional land races in El Salvador succumb easily to the increasing floods and longer droughts, and so the idea is that with GMO crops, the goal to become self-sufficient as a country (in terms of being able to feed itself) can be realized. This movement is being sponsored by the Association of Agricultural Suppliers (APA), who apart from pushing to give the green light for GMOs to be planted, also would like to see investment in infrastructure that supports agriculture and technology credits for producers who upgrade.

Proponents of starting GMO trials in El Salvador point to the successes Colombia has had since they began planting transgenic cotton, corn, and soybeans in 2001. They - apart from APA, also representatives from CropLife Latin America- believe that the biggest bottle-neck in agricultural development in El Salvador is the lack of access to new technologies. Naturally the primary technology they hope to see in this country is the latest transgenic seeds being planted. The entity that has the authority to grant permission for the planting of genetically modified is the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), not the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG). Which, in my opinion, makes a whole lot of sense. As of now, MARN has not granted permission. And prices for basic grains have stabilized since the spike after the days and days of rain. And of course, we're into the summer months, where almost no rain will fall until April or May. It's going to long and dry, and crops without irrigation will wither and die. Yes, perhaps drought-tolerant genetically engineered plants would fair somewhat better, but how sustainable is it for subsistence farmers to buy the GM seeds year after year? A more sustainable solution would be to implement other types of technology - such as micro-hydro irrigation projects that could extend the growing season and give the farmers more stability for years and years to come.

Farmland in northern El Salvador - greenhouses, mostly for rain protection.

School Food Program Falling Short in El Salvador

The school lunch line: a familiar scene? Not in every school.

Wait...there's a school food program in El Salvador?? Well, yes and no. Recently (within the past few years, although I could not obtain the exact date of initiation), the government of El Salvador, through the Ministry of Education, launched a school snack program. It is called a "snack" program as opposed to breakfast or lunch because the majority of schools in this country have two sessions: a morning session, from around 7 until noon, and an afternoon session, from around 1 until 6. Students attend either the morning OR the afternoon session, not both. Teachers, of course, teach both sessions. And still the rooms are overcrowded and there are not enough resources for even a fraction of those students, or resources period. So, this government-sponsored food program would feed children either mid morning or mid afternoon, depending on the session the student attends. And not surprisingly, this is the best (and sometimes only) meal many of the students receive. A meal of beans are rice served with a vitamin-fortified drink or just plain milk. That's it. Fresh fruits and vegetables? Not so much, but it's calories and a bit of protein and carbohydrates - a start, but certainly not the best.

Junk food is readily available at schools - what about healthy wholesome meals?

The Ministry of Education has recently announced that this new school feeding program to be a success, but apparently many schools are not receiving nearly enough food. Most schools in the department of Santa Ana receive three deliveries during the school year: one in March, another in June, and the final delivery at the beginning of October. (The nine-month public school year starts in March and ends at the close of November.) Many schools can only stretch the food deliveries to last a month, at best. One school in Santa Ana says their October delivery will probably last only until the 22nd of this month. The school year ends November 23rd. That means for one month, students will be going without their snack. Teachers have reported that when there is food for the snacks, they see a dramatic change in the students. They are better behaved, have more focused energy, and exhibit less behavior problems. So when the food supply runs out, they see increased absenteeism, increased disruptions in class, and overall less enthusiastic kids. A hungry student is not a happy student, it's that simple.

Snacks are sold at the schools - or right near the schools, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure - but these snacks are basically just golosinas - candies - or perhaps chips. They provide little in the way of sustenance for the student who buys them - if they can even afford to buy them. The best part about the school food program is that it does not discriminate: it is food available to every student who attends school, regardless of income. This does away with the stigma of getting "handouts" or other forms of charity that kids might shy away from for fear of ridicule by their classmates (yes, despite that a large percent of their classmates are in the same situation). This highlights the need for farm to school programs and school gardens. School yards are locked up when students leave, which would help protect the school garden, and the school garden itself could be part of the curriculum for the classes, and students can help with the labor. Land is often a problem, but most of the time, some is available. Or perhaps raised beds and other innovative and low-tech systems could be implemented to grow food on otherwise undesirable land. So many possibilities!!

(By the way, the Ministry of Education responded to the claims of too-little or undelivered foods by saying that the school directors had not properly filled out the correct forms letting them know how much food the students had eaten daily so they could then properly fill the orders....I guess they didn't get the memo about the necessary cover sheet....)

*Most information taken from an article from El Diario de Hoy, 16 October, 2011 by Emilia Pacheco.

El Salvador Reaps Record Coffee Earnings

Coffee growing near Tacuba, El Salvador.

El Salvador has seen record earnings in coffee this past year; the combination of increased cultivation and soaring world prices has led to many coffee producers bringing in more money than they've seen in a decade. According to the Salvadoran Coffee Council, the past year's export earnings were over $435 million - an increase of 130% from the previous year. A large part of this increase is thanks to the world price of coffee, which is currently at just over $200 per quintal (hundredweight, or 100 kilograms, about 220 pounds). Yes, many of you buy coffee for over nine dollars a pound, nowhere near the 90 cents per pound it's being sold for, but keep in mind this is the "green" coffee bean. Your price includes the cost of transport to the roaster, the roasting of the coffee bean, the fancy coffee packages, transporting to the distribution centers and stores, all the people who are involved with this process along the way, not to mention the brand of the coffee, and marketing too. You might be feeling the sting of higher coffee prices; they are double what they were five years ago, which was double what they were five years before that. That's right, in 2000, coffee prices were around $50 per quintal. Coffee prices (for green coffee beans) are higher than they've been in over twenty years. What's happening? Coffee shortages. Coffee has been affected by recent climate events, such as flooding and droughts, which has shrunk the world supply of coffee.

Thankfully, El Salvador has been able to add to its total harvest in the past year to reap these benefits. This past year, El Salvador harvested the largest quantity of coffee in a decade and a 67% increase over last year's harvest. It's all relative, however, because it looks good when we compare it to the 2000/2001 harvest year. But that year was lower than it had been in over ten years. So, although El Salvador has made great gains compared to the previous ten years, if you line it up with the previous 22 years, it's not looking as hopeful. Perhaps, though, production will continue to increase (trying to insert optimism here!) But it also looks a little bleak, as many coffee fincas are aging and the plans are to take them out of production, which would reduce overall harvest yields. The coffee groups are calling for investments in renovating old coffee fincas and planting new coffee trees, which will help for the future, but likely we'll see a dip in El Salvador's coffee earnings over the next few years.

G-20 Recommends Increasing Investments in Agriculture

The G20 is a group comprised of the top twenty largest economies in the world; together they account for 85% of the world's production of goods and services; over 80% of the GDP and about 80% of the world trade, while accounting for about 65% of the world's population. The members themselves are finance ministers and central bank governors from their respective countries. Their objective is to serve as council to those wealthy nations. Until recently, G8 has been the primary council, but the G20 has risen in stature and is now considered the "go-to" for global economic advising. For the U.S., Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke are the representatives. Not surprisingly, El Salvador is not among the top 20 wealthiest nations; it's ranked somewhere around 95 to 100, depending on the source. In fact, no Central American country is represented in the bloc; Mexico, Argentina and Brazil are the only three Latin American countries in attendance.

In a recent meeting, the concern was voiced as to how we would feed a world of 9 billion people, which is the predicted world population in 2050. Less than forty years away. Plenty of time for change, if we start now. One of the seven pillars defined by the G20 in this recent Washington, DC meeting, is to support small-scale farmers through inclusion in farm-to-school connections as well as supporting public-private partnerships that particularly focus on women agricultural producers. The G20 bloc also stressed the importance of protecting the world's most vulnerable citizens from food price volatility and establishing safeguards for pending climate variations that will inevitably affect agriculture around the world. Other suggestions included improving infrastructure, particularly in the energy and transportation sectors, where large gaps exist and many small and poor farmers do not have access to basic infrastructure.

The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the richest world economies to invest $100 billion annually each year through 2020 (I can only assume that's a combined total and no what each country should be investing, but my source was not clear). Some of this money, according to Oxfam, could be gained by taxing international financial transactions and imposing a tax of $25 per ton of carbon emitted by cargo planes and ships traveling in international airspace and waters. Whether or not these taxes will be imposed, and if the appropriate investments in agriculture will be made, remains to be seen. But at least it is on the agenda, and high up on the list at that. Food is something we cannot do without, and a food system that places a high value on sustainably and locally produced agriculture will also be one that improves the lives and livelihoods of millions of people - most of them quite poor people - around the world.

Pedro, a Salvadoran farmer, points to his damaged lettuce plants. Despite the overhead protection from the rain (and excessive sunlight - depending on the season), and the fact that he has terraced his land, he still faces many risks. As an organic grower, he strongly believes in how he's helping the world and earning a living. Increasing investments in small-scale agriculture would help growers like Don Pedro.

Sustainable Coconut Industry in El Salvador

The coconut, Cocos nucifera, is the sole species of the genus Cocos, a palm tree grown around the world for its fruit and fiber. The origin of the plant is still debated: some scientists believe the tree is from India or the Asia-Pacific region, while others contend they're from South America. Either way, the tree has been cultivated and used for food and building materials by humans for centuries. And on the Island of the Holy Spirit, near Bahia de Jiquilisco in El Salvador, the coconut is a way of life. A little more than 10 percent of the island's 1800 residents are employed in the coconut industry; approximately 9 million coconuts are harvested from the island's trees each year. On the island is a cooperative that transforms the coconut into edible products, industrial products, or items of ornamental value.

Coconut plantation near Bahia de Jiquilisco (close to Playa El Espino).

Forty-five men cut, transport, and split about a thousand coconuts each day and thirty-five other people (primarily women) separate the "meat" of the coconut from the husk. Historically, most of the edible portion of the coconut has been used for industrial oil production. For this to happen, the women spread the meat out on the cement patios of the cooperative to dry - for six to fifteen days, depending upon if it is the rainy or dry season. Once dehydrated, the coconut meat is crushed in a mill, treated to clean it, and then sold to a factory that produces it into oil. This has been the most prominent activity, and the longest-running, on the island, but it is not consistent because contracts have not been created with the buyers; their needs fluctuate and they might not request a shipment of coconut for oil for two months. So, the islanders are changing the industry; they are looking for new avenues to sell their product. Fresh sales have been up: around 4,000 coconuts (only the meat part, removed from the husk and hard shell) are sold every few days to vendors who make it into food products.

Neat rows of coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) at the edge of Bahia de Jiquilisco, growing right up to the high tide line.

On the island, locals have started initiatives to make preserves, sweet bread, and crafts from the coconut. Today, nearly 800 pieces of coconut candies are made each day in ten different flavors and varieties, such as coco con dulce, coco rayado, coco pina, etc. Coco Art is also gaining popularity as women are making items from the hard shell of the coconuts, such as jewelry, mobiles, candle-holders and other ornamental items. The cooperative is still looking to invest in equipment that will allow them the ability to refine the oil themselves, and also for a machine that would allow them to bottle the coconut water in a sanitary method. Right now, the coconut water is just wasted, dumped out.

What is not being wasted is the natural fiber around the coconut fruit. For the past four years, this "waste product" has been made into planting substrate, liners for plant baskets, and as cropping bags. This sector of the coconut industry employs ten people who formally made a living fishing and collecting small mollusks in the mangrove swamps - jobs that were often back-breaking and low-paying. This sector is hoping to ramp up production by creating coconut coir - a substrate used for sowing seeds in greenhouses made from the pith of the coconut (the part of the husk around the spindly fibers). They also hope to increase sales of the plant baskets, but recently realized that people have become so accustomed to the plastic liners that even though the coconut liners will last seven years, consumers do not realize this and are therefore biased against them. With some strategic marketing, they should be able to improve sales.

Enjoying fresh coconut water by the pool! Near the beaches, you can always find fresh coconuts for sale, ready-to-drink for fifty cents a pop.

This seems all good. But is it? Having a coconut plantation naturally means that you have one large monoculture of nothing but C. nucifera growing for as far as the eye can see. But in this country, having something growing all the time, holding the soil in - particularly in coastal areas - is a lot better than the otherwise rampant deforestation. Coconut plantations are certainly better for the environment and human health than sugar cane plantations. Yes, there are insect pests - as one would expect in a monoculture - and those are managed by insecticides, although I cannot say specifically what kind or how often they spray on this island. So, unlike in other countries, in El Salvador, coconut plantations are not the cause for deforestation because the whole landscape was already deforested where coconuts are planted! Additionally, from personal experience, I have seen how coconut plantations are not just used for coconut cultivation; the land is used for cattle. Cows roam around in the thin shade of the palm trees, eating vegetation around the base of the trees, keeping the weeds down and adding fertility to the soil. Overall, it seems to be a reasonably sustainable industry for El Salvador.

Cheap Chinese Beans

In a bean-producing and bean-consuming country, smack in the middle of a bean-eating, bean-growing part of the world, beans are being shipped in from nearly 9,000 miles (14,000 km) away. And amazingly, despite the miles traveled from field to fork, these beans sell for 35-50 cents less per pound than locally grown beans. It was supposedly a venture that required collaboration between the Chinese government and the agricultural ministry in El Salvador, and this joint venture was meant to "benefit the citizens" of El Salvador. With short-term imported cheap food? Personally, I would like to see the Ministry of Agriculture (MAg) invest in long-term solutions such as providing education and resources to implement sustainable farming practices and seed saving techniques. Methods to reduce erosion, to capture rainwater for irrigation, to restore soil health, to fight insects or plant diseases without chemicals, to bring the product from harvest to market with minimal loss...these are topics that would truly benefit the citizens. But instead, what is the biggest complaint? That the cheap Chinese beans are only being sold in 5-pound bags, which is difficult for many people to afford (yes, the $3.75 is a stretch for many campesinos). Which is why it's obvious that only solutions that are rooted in longevity will have any lasting impact. The MAg says is has at least enough beans to cover all people in the department of La Union for 15 days. After that, what?

This bean import is being complemented by a corn import. But in this case, the importation causes the corn prices to rise despite the fact that the corn is only coming from Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. This importation is causing worry on the minds of local (Salvadoran) farmers. They fear that the importers will have too much inventory when the harvest comes locally (which is the end of September into October), and this glut will cause prices to drop below what could otherwise be earned without the imported corn saturating the market. But let's dig down to the root of the issue: the reason the corn harvest is late here in El Salvador is because the rainy season began and then suddenly stopped for a couple of weeks (this was back in May). During that 2-week dry spell, all of the little corn seedlings desiccated and most died. Farmers had to turn the fields and replant when the rains started again, putting them about a month behind schedule. What could have prevented this? Very simple irrigation systems. Especially those farmers that sow their seeds on hills - these systems could be low-tech gravity fed systems. With a little proper investing and focusing on long-term solutions, many problems can be prevented!

Red beans - a staple part of the diet in El Salvador.

(NOTE: I know many problems are not as simple as they appear on the surface, I don't mean to oversimplify the issues!)