ABSTRACT
Nicaragua’s rural areas are dominated by smallholders who rely on their agricultural production to meet a significant proportion of their household consumption needs. 1 However, most producers do not cover their annual consumption of staples such as maize and beans. This chapter looks critically at whether efforts to support increased production are the best way to increase the food security of these smallholders and for Nicaragua as a whole. To understand the implications of food security policy choices, this chapter analyses trade-offs, opportunities and risks facing smallholders as they look for the best way to enhance their food security by either trying to maintain or increase their subsistence production, pursue off-farm income sources or combine both activities.
