In the communities where we work, poverty levels are even more pronounced. Our baseline data shows that over 95 percent of these households earn less than $3 dollars a day per capita and live without sanitation and running water.
Nicaragua possesses abundant natural resources and its location means it is well positioned to access regional and international markets. However, its agriculture sector is characterized by market inefficiency, low productivity, and minimal value-addition. According to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Nicaraguan farmers produce the lowest yields and receive the smallest share of the export value of their produce compared to their counterparts in Central America. These farmers, often growing on small, degraded plots of land, with limited access to finance, technology, and agronomic assistance, face difficult economic prospects and precarious lives. What’s more, Nicaragua ranks amongst the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change.