Editing Economy of Guatemala (section)

==Agriculture==
Guatemala is the world leader in [[cardamom]] production and export. As of 2013, demand for [[biofuel]]s has resulted in diversion of land from [[subsistence agriculture]] to [[sugar cane]] and [[Elaeis|African Palm]] plantations. Much of the land is owned by large landlords. Due to legal requirements for production of biofuels in the United States the price of [[maize]], a Guatemalan staple, has risen sharply.<ref name=NYT01513>{{cite news|title=As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala's Hunger Pangs|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/science/earth/in-fields-and-markets-guatemalans-feels-squeeze-of-biofuel-demand.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/science/earth/in-fields-and-markets-guatemalans-feels-squeeze-of-biofuel-demand.html |archive-date=2022-01-02 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=6 January 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 January 2013|first=Elisabeth|last=Rosenthal}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Agriculture accounts for 60% of Guatemalan exports and employs more than 50% of the labor force.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal|last=Pagán|first=José A.|date=2002-10-01|title=Gender Differences in Labor Market Decisions in Rural Guatemala|journal=Review of Development Economics|language=en|volume=6|issue=3|pages=428–441|doi=10.1111/1467-9361.00165|s2cid=154376161|issn=1467-9361}}</ref>

In 2018, Guatemala produced 35.5 million tons of [[sugarcane]] (it's one of the 10 largest producers in the world) and 4 million tons of [[banana]] (it's one of the 15 largest world producers). In addition, in the same year it produced 2.3 million tons of [[palm oil]], 245 thousand tons of [[coffee]], 1.9 million tons of [[maize]], 623 thousand tons of [[melon]], 312 thousand tons of [[pineapple]], 564 thousand tons of [[potato]], 349 thousand tons of [[rubber]], 331 thousand tons of [[tomato]], 253 thousand tons of [[beans]], 124 thousand tons of [[avocado]], 124 thousand tons of [[lemon]], 177 thousand tons of [[Orange (fruit)|orange]], 120 thousand tons of [[cauliflower]] and [[broccoli]], 93 thousand tons of [[papaya]], 107 thousand tons of [[watermelon]], 98 thousand tons of [[carrot]], 75 thousand tons of [[cabbage]], 84 thousand tons of [[lettuce]] and [[chicory]], 38 thousand tons of [[cardamom]] in addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/ Guatemala production in 2018, by FAO]</ref>

=== Scale ===
The agricultural sector of Guatemala's economy consists of two types of producers: numerous small-scale peasant-owned farms in the highlands, and fewer medium- to large-scale operations in the more fertile lowlands.<ref name=Durr2016>{{Cite journal |last=Dürr |first=Jochen |date=2016-11-01 |title=The political economy of agriculture for development today: the 'small versus large' scale debate revisited |journal=Agricultural Economics |language=en |volume=47 |issue=6 |pages=671–681 |doi=10.1111/agec.12264}}</ref> The smaller farms produce staples for Guatemalan consumption, such as beans and maize, as well as fruits and vegetables for export. Larger farms produce export and plantation products like bananas, sugar cane, coffee, and rubber and palm oil.<ref name=Durr2016/><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Hamilton |first1=Sarah |last2=Fischer |first2=Edward F. |date=2005-09-01 |title=Maya Farmers and Export Agriculture in Highland Guatemala: Implications for Development and Labor Relations |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=32 |issue=144 |pages=33–58 |doi=10.1177/0094582X05279503 |s2cid=144240335 }}</ref> While 88% of agricultural land in Guatemala is in large-scale farms, 92% of all farms in Guatemala are small. Large farms produce 1/3 more per hectare than small farms, but employ fewer people overall.<ref name=Durr2016/>

=== Non-traditional agricultural exports ===
The shift to the production of non-traditional agricultural exports (NTAE) is a strategy used by developing countries like Guatemala to grow the agricultural sector and decreasing inequality by including the rural poor in the benefits of [[globalization]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Carletto|first1=Calogero|last2=Kirk|first2=Angeli|last3=Winters|first3=Paul C.|last4=Davis|first4=Benjamin|date=2010-06-01|title=Globalization and Smallholders: The Adoption, Diffusion, and Welfare Impact of Non-Traditional Export Crops in Guatemala|journal=World Development|language=en|volume=38|issue=6|pages=814–827|doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.02.017|issn=0305-750X|url=http://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/rp2008-18.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412024328/https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/rp2008-18.pdf |archive-date=2018-04-12 |url-status=live}}</ref> The most important NTAE crops in Guatemala include
* fruit like mangos, melons, and berries
* vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and snow peas
* organic crops such as coffee.<ref name=":112">{{Cite journal|last=Damiani|first=Octavio|date=2000-09-01|title=The State and Nontraditional Agricultural Exports in Latin America: Results and Lessons of Three Case Studies|journal=Idb Publications |doi=10.18235/0006872 |url=http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=355266|language=en}}</ref> The value of non-traditional agricultural export crops has increased from $146 million US in 1992 to $262 million in 2001.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last1=Carletto|first1=Calogero|last2=Kilic|first2=Talip|last3=Kirk|first3=Angeli|date=2009|title=Non-Traditional Export Crops in Guatemala: Short-Term Tool or Long-Term Strategy for Poverty Alleviation?|url=http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US2016210394|journal=AGRIS: International Information System for the Agricultural Science and Technology|language=en}}</ref> IN 1998, NTAE accounted for 8.7 percent of the total exports.<ref name=":112"/> NTAE production largely comes from small-scale farmers. While the farmers who are involved in this market are not failing, this market limits their capital accumulation to slow growth, and therefore they are not able to profit highly off of this market.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last1=Hamilton|first1=Sarah|last2=Fischer|first2=Edward F.|date=2003-11-06|title=Non-Traditional Agricultural Exports in Highland Guatemala: Understandings of Risk and Perceptions of Change|journal=Latin American Research Review|language=en|volume=38|issue=3|pages=82–110|doi=10.1353/lar.2003.0033|issn=1542-4278|citeseerx=10.1.1.200.2662|s2cid=143377810}}</ref>

=== Gender ===
The agricultural sector of Guatemala is differentiated by gender, and this differential can be seen in several different areas within the sector. More men than women inherit or buy land individually, although many houses choose to rent land instead of buying it.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last1=Hamilton|first1=Sarah|last2=Asturias de Barrios|first2=Linda|last3=Tevalán|first3=Brenda|date=2001-09-01|title=Gender and Commercial Agriculture in Ecuador and Guatemala|journal=Culture & Agriculture|language=en|volume=23|issue=3|pages=1–12|doi=10.1525/cag.2001.23.3.1|issn=1556-486X}}</ref> Additionally, there is a gender gap in the division of agricultural labor. Traditionally, men dominated subsistence production and agricultural production for domestic markets, while women had roles in small animal production, craft production, and the selling of products in regional rather than national markets.<ref name=":14" /> With the shift toward NTAE, there has also been an increase in field labor for women.<ref name=":14" /> Additionally, women have been included in land-use decision processes in NTAE production. Sarah Hamilton, Linda Asturias de Barrios, and Brenda Tevalán have stated that despite a traditional patriarchal structure in Guatemala, NTAE production is associated with increased independence and equality between men and women.<ref name=":14" />

=== Climate change ===
{{excerpt|Climate change in Guatemala|Agriculture|subsections=yes}}