Nicaragua

IFAD Asset Request Portlet

Country

Nicaragua

10

Projects Includes planned, ongoing and closed projects

US$ 334.07 million

Total Project Cost

US$ 148.24 million

Total IFAD financing

191,380

Households impacted

The Context

Although Nicaragua has experienced economic stability and sustained economic growth over the last decade, it still is the country with the lowest per capita income among Central American countries at US$2,086 in 2015.

In 2011, poverty stood at 42.5 per cent overall, with 14.6 per cent of the population living in extreme poverty. In rural areas, however, up to 63.3 per cent of the population is poor, and some 26.6 per cent is extremely poor. Despite significant progress, reducing poverty remains a significant challenge.

Smallholder farmers play a decisive role in the Nicaraguan agricultural sector: 75 per cent of farmers possess less than 3.5 hectares but produce 80 per cent of basic grains and 65 per cent of livestock products. Smallholder farmers generate 56 per cent of the sector's exports, which include coffee, meat, peanuts, sugar, sesame, beans and dairy products.

Nicaraguan agriculture development is hindered by lack of infrastructure, qualified workforce, basic services and transport. In 2016, informal workers comprised 75 per cent of the agricultural labour force; yet employment in this sector has stagnated, compared with other sectors such as industry, construction and commerce.

The 2014 rural poverty rate (50.1 per cent) is more than three times higher than urban poverty rate, and 70 per cent of poor people are rural. This percentage is even higher for disadvantaged groups like indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.

The performance of the agricultural sector is highly influenced by Nicaragua's vulnerability to climatic events. Past extreme events, such as hurricanes, have disproportionately affected the agricultural sector.

The Strategy

In Nicaragua, IFAD loans support the efforts of farmers’ organizations and the Government to increase inclusive growth in the agriculture sector as a vehicle for reducing poverty, generating employment and improving family food consumption, as well as contributing to sustainability and the replication of good practices.

IFAD’s projects have transitioned from a focus on food security to an approach to jobs and business development through rural microenterprise, and then towards a focus on including smallholder farmers in larger-scale businesses and added value products.

Key activities include:

facilitating access to assets, markets and income-generating activities, and job opportunities;

increasing labour productivity through incentives that facilitate access to information, technology and technical and financial services; and

improving environmental, fiscal and institutional sustainability.

Moreover – and in association with other cooperating partners, public institutions and farmers’ organizations – IFAD promotes knowledge management, standardizing successful innovations in order to achieve more effective rural development practices.

The results and lessons of project implementation provide input for dialogue with the Government and the development of sector policy instruments, especially in terms of including women and small-scale farmers in value chains and access to markets, as well as self-employment and the generation of job opportunities. 

Results-based country strategic opportunities programme (COSOP) Arabic | English | French | Spanish

Country Facts

Agriculture in Nicaragua accounts for 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs almost 40 per cent of the labour force.

Small farmers produce 90 per cent of the basic food basket, 65 per cent of livestock products and 56 per cent of agricultural exports.

Nicaraguan agriculture development is hindered by lack of infrastructure, qualified workforce, basic services and transport. In 2016, informal workers comprised 75 per cent of the agricultural labour force.

Since 1980, IFAD has invested a total of US$148.3 million in 10 programmes and projects related to agricultural development in Nicaragua, benefiting 191,380 households.

Country documents

Related Assets

Nicaragua Country Strategy Note 2022-2024 Type: Country strategy note (CSN)
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean

Country Experts

Projects and Programmes

Projects Browser

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Evaluación independiente concluye que las operaciones apoyadas por el FIDA en Nicaragua aportan valiosa contribución al desarrollo rural

January 2017 - NEWS
Los proyectos de desarrollo apoyados por el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) en Nicaragua han sido eficaces para mejorar los medios de subsistencia de la población rural pobre y fortalecer sus sistemas de producción de alimentos, según la evaluación de la estrategia y el programa en el país presentada hoy en Managua por la Oficina de Evaluación Independiente del FIDA.

Nicaragua y agencia de las Naciones Unidas discutirán cómo impulsar el desarrollo rural

January 2017 - NEWS
La Oficina de Evaluación Independiente del Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) presentará las conclusiones de una evaluación independiente del programa apoyado por el FIDA en Nicaragua durante una mesa redonda nacional que se llevará a cabo en Managua el 20 de enero de 2017. El FIDA es una institución financiera internacional y una agencia especializada de las Naciones Unidas que trabaja para erradicar la pobreza rural.

IFAD President to meet head of state and ministers in Nicaragua: investment in agriculture on top of agenda

December 2014 - NEWS
Rome, 11 July 2013 – The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Kanayo F. Nwanze, will visit the Republic of Nicaragua

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In Nicaragua, coffee and cocoa make life sweeter

May 2021 - STORY
NICADAPTA works closely with producer cooperatives to help them sustainably access coffee and cocoa markets. The results are making life not only sweeter, but also better.

Recipes for Change: Nicaragua rice and black/red beans

June 2016 - STORY
Black beans originate from the Americas, with southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica as the main producers. Areas with rainy summers and mild temperatures (about 20°C yearly average), create the ideal climatic conditions for black beans.

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Investing in rural people in Nicaragua

January 2017
IFAD’s strategy in Nicaragua supports the efforts of farmers’ organizations and the government to increase inclusive growth in the agricultural sector as a vehicle for reducing poverty, generating employment and improving family food consumption, as well as contributing to sustainability and the replication of good practices. The strategic objectives centre on: • Inclusion. Access is facilitated to assets, markets and income-generating activities, and job opportunities increase. • Productivity. Labour productivity is increased through incentives that facilitate access to information, technology and technical and financial services. • Sustainability. Environmental, fiscal and institutional sustainability are improved.

ASAP Nicaragua factsheet

September 2014
NICADAPTA will improve incomes and quality of life for rural families – and reduce their vulnerability to the impact of climate change – by facilitating access to markets for valueadded coffee and cocoa. It will introduce water efficiency and crop diversification measures such as coffee-cocoa intercropping in coffee plantations to buffer the effects of rising temperatures.

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