When farming becomes a big international business, it can hurt small-scale farmers who can’t compete. In Mesoamerica, where 60% of people live in rural areas, this can translate to long-term starvation.

 Issues such as genetically modified foods, the use of hybrid seeds and the redirection of traditional food crops like corn to the production of bio-fuels, place the poorest communities at a clear disadvantage. The reality is that if things continue as they are, there is good reason to fear that food scarcity and famine in the region will only intensify, and conditions of poverty will worsen in the coming years.

 What’s Horizons Doing?

We provide support to organizations focused on small-scale farming. These organizations connect with many other groups in the region, such as farming collectives, to acquire and share best practices, appropriate technologies and native seed preservation – all with the aim of ensuring a minimum of food self sufficiency in agricultural zones.We also support micro-credit programs in several countries in the region to help small-scale farmers gain access to credit.

In 2011, Horizons and our Southern partners will begin a regional project aimed at strengthening a collective response to the many threats affecting the fundamental right to food and to food sovereignty.