Agriculture

A student at Earth University -- a USAID legacy institution -- is seen here developing organic lettuce for export.

Ornamentals plants in La Tigra, San Carlos can now be exported directly to U.S. markets after completion of a joint program to ensure they meet U.S. requirements, a benefit of Costa Rica's membership in CAFTA.

Agricultural extension and research. Costa Rica in the 20th century was primarily an agricultural nation, and U.S. assistance reflected this fact. Over the years, support for agriculture through a wide range of activities has been a central focus of U.S. cooperation. By 1960, the Ministry of Agriculture, working with the help of U.S. experts and with U.S. financial support, had opened extension offices throughout the country which reached tens of thousands of farmers. Once the extension system was in place, U.S. aid focused on research to increase yields, develop improved varieties of crops and pasture, and fight diseases and pests.

Land reform. A cornerstone of the Alliance for Progress was land reform, intended to achieve more equitable distribution of land and increase production. Land reform efforts included purchasing idle land to distribute to campesinos, mediating land conflicts, colonization programs, and titling existing holdings. USAID support included funding and technical assistance for colonization and land titling programs, legal research and reforms, aerial photography and mapping, and improvements to the National Property Registry.

Agricultural cooperatives. During the 1960s and ’70s, support for rural cooperatives was a priority for both countries. Grower and producer cooperatives flourished, in many regions dominating the production and distribution of coffee and other crops, dairy products, and agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and tools. The growth of cooperatives helped small- to mid-size producers especially,
easing access to information, technical and logistical assistance, credit and
markets.

Non-traditional agricultural exports. After the economic crisis of the 1980s, promoting non-traditional agricultural products for export became a key part of the government’s plan for economic recovery and future growth. USAID helped develop these new commodities – including strawberries, melons, pineapples and ornamental plants – through technical and marketing support for growers.

Earth University and CATIE. In the 1980s and ’90s, USAID supported the training of agricultural professionals through the creation of EARTH University and support for graduate-level training at CATIE, an agricultural research center based in Turrialba.

Food for Peace

The Food for Peace program, through which the U.S. government donates or sells on concessional terms surplus agricultural production to developing countries, operated in Costa Rica for almost 40 years, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s. Donated food, which was distributed by the international aid organization CARE, was helping feed up to 300,000 school-age children each year by 1976, through school meal programs, and an additional 30,000 infants and pregnant and lactating mothers through programs operated by the Ministry of Health. Before the end of the 1970s, government-funded nutrition and family assistance programs made the program unnecessary, and it was temporarily discontinued, only to be reactivated on a much larger scale after the economic crisis of 1981.

After the crisis, the Food for Peace Program was greatly expanded; the sale of surplus, subsidized U.S. agricultural products under the program generated over $150 million in local currency for loans to development projects. Funds generated under the program were used to finance almost 200 “self-help” projects, distributed under 15 priorities, among them road improvements, support for agricultural cooperatives, health services and housing.