Strengthening nutritional and food security of the vulnerable population in 3 rural communities from Tacaná San Marcos, Guatemala.
The Right to Food is a right recognized by the State of Guatemala in all legal spheres. Guatemala is the Latin American country with most chronic malnutrition: 46.5% of children under 5 years of age suffer from malnutrition. Specifically, the project’s area of action, the municipality of Tacaná, is prioritized by the government because of its extreme poverty and malnutrition. The population have hardly any land (average holding of 0.05 hectare) or access to water for irrigation, which limits production for self-consumption. Crops are not enough to satisfy the demand for food, and families must buy basic foodstuffs in an environment of low income and growing prices. The project will create family farms, irrigation water systems, and an agricultural and livestock extension service for year-round food production. The aim is to generate sustainably nutritious food to feed the population locally, ensuring the Right to Food for more than 2,728 people. In order to fight malnutrition, in addition to producing food, the project will create a community health service (nutritional) linked to the public health service. This community service will provide nutritional healthcare, especially to pregnant women and children under 5 years of age. In addition, the project empowers women economically and socially as agents of change at productive and health levels. Beneficiaries will have increased reserves of new food, improved systems of storage and conservation, adequate consumption, better nutrition, and environmentally friendly agricultural and livestock practices.