food security

Last week in La Dalia, I participated in a workshop on food security and political participation along with 25 leaders and promotoras from surrounding communities. a focus of the workshop was a law passed this year by the Nicaraguan Congress (Asamblea Nacional), the Ley de Soberanía y Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (Law of Food & Nutritional Sovereignty and Security), which guarantees the right to food and adequate nutrition for all Nicaraguans, along with the equitable distribution of food and nutrition. However, these admirable goals will confront significant challenges in order to become reality. For example, Nicaragua is currently experiencing a drought; it's winter here, and despite the usual afternoon thunderstorms in Managua, it's not raining enough. According to a recent report by the Nicaragua Network, these El Niño conditions will affect agricultural production, making it difficult for the vast majority of Nicaraguans, many of whom live in conditions of extreme poverty on less than $1USD/day, to obtain sufficient food. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food recently visited Nicaragua and stated, "Nicaragua finds itself in an extremely bad situation, not as bad as Haiti and Guatemala, but close to the situation of those countries", urging donor nations not to withhold vital food aid. In our taller in La Dalia, we focused on training leaders to address food security in their own communities, for example, by planting home or cooperative gardens, and by working with local municipalities to improve distribution systems.