Agros Blog

A recent article from Yahoo News México highlights a profound crisis in México’s rural economy. Farmers in rural México have seen their purchasing power decrease by 44 percent. This has affected their ability to buy basic goods such as food, clothing, and medicine. This decrease in purchasing power has caused many in rural communities to migrate to the cities in search of higher paying jobs. The Mexican government has tried to improve the situation in rural areas by issuing families monthly allowances, but this unfortunately has not helped improve the situation.

While issuing monthly allowances will help the rural poor of México in the short-term, it will do nothing to alleviate poverty in the long-term. If people are merely living hand-to-mouth through short term interventions, they will likely remain trapped and poor. Rural poor families need tangible opportunities–like credit, training, and community development support–to empower them to work their own way out of poverty.

This is where Agros comes in.  We work to end rural poverty by providing farmers and villagers with the necessary tools to build strong, functioning rural economies. With land loans, agricultural business training, a focus on empowering women, and holistic community support, we work to provide people with the tools to create jobs for themselves and break out of the cycle of poverty.

Agros works in Chiapas, México and the villages there have a very positive and successful relationship with Agros. Agros México utilizes a farmer-centric approach to sustainable rural development and the larger objetive is to help reverse the economic situation taking place throughout Chiapas.

Here in the US we can also all push for rural economic development policies that address the deep-rooted problems that cause inefficiencies in these markets and that ultimately subject millions to grinding poverty.