FAO Representative: Food Availability in Venezuela Has Improved

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Venezuela, Alexis Bonte, has assured that food availability in Venezuela “has improved,” although there is still the problem of “financial accessibility.”

The biggest “challenge” today, he said, is enabling low-income people to take advantage of economic growth.

Bonte stressed the importance of increasing food production in Venezuela and achieving a balance between domestic and imported goods.

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Estimating that 60% of food in Venezuela is imported, while the country produces only between 20 and 30% of its necessities, Bonte opined that “imports are quite important but we must seek a balance between national production and imports.”

“If all the money spent on food was spent internally at a national level,” commented Bonte, “it could be invested within the country” and could generate a “very good economic impact on rural areas.”

The specialist stated that although Venezuela has “interesting” food policies, it is important to advance in their improvement.

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“According to what people have told me,” added Bonte, “CLAP serves, more or less, to supplement people’s basic diet by 10 to 20% per month. You have to analyse if the policy to follow is to increase availability and also revise the diversity of foods that are offered within CLAP.”

In an interview with VTV, Bonte affirmed that it is important to improve people’s food diversity with plant proteins.

Featured image: Scene from a local food market in Venezuela. Photo: Unión Radio

(Unión Radio) by Lourdes G. Soublette

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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