Photo description: Nicolás Maduro hosts a campaign rally in 2013 in Caracas, Venezuela
Photo credit: Joka Madruga / TerraLivrePress.com

I. Summary

Food and agricultural policies introduced by the Venezuelan government in the last three decades shape food access for the Venezuelan people. Venezuela has enacted policies meant to stabilize food prices, which have had varied effects on domestic producers and consumers. A key example of this phenomenon is the 2008 Food Price Crisis, which initially had a smaller effect in Venezuela compared to neighboring countries. However, the Venezuelan government’s muted response to the crisis, subsequent expansion of price controls over the next fifteen years, and external factors increased food insecurity and the prevalence of undernourishment for Venezuelans.

This blog examines Venezuela’s food security and nutrition policies, first enacted by former President Hugo Chávez, and the impact of these policies on food security and undernourishment in Venezuela, particularly in the face of the 2008 and 2023 food price crises.

II.  Venezuelan Food and Agricultural Policy from 2001 to Present  

Price Controls
Following Hugo Chávez’s presidential election in 1998, his socialist government relied on revenues from oil production to alleviate poverty and guarantee food security. Price control policies imposed in 2003 fixed prices on all staple foods and effectively banned imports for private distributors of these foods. Imported goods were sold at state-subsidized food markets, called “mercales,” to improve financial and physical access to food. In 2008, oil revenues accounted for 93% of Venezuela’s exports (Benzaquen, 2017). Despite decreases in food production due to increased prices for inputs like biofuels, fixing prices meant that the Venezuela could afford greater amounts of imports at elevated crisis prices, which effectively mitigated the effects on the Venezuelan population.

Part A. Figure 1. Venezuela's spending on imports, 1998-2016

However, the government overspent during periods of oil price surges, leaving the country with little savings and in default once oil revenues crashed. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who succeeded former President Chávez in 2013,  significantly decreased the importation of goods in an attempt to curtail the mounting debt (Figure 1). Despite earlier successes, the country now faced extreme food scarcity.

Expropriation of Land
As the government successfully imported most consumer goods (Benzaquen, 2017), Maduro’s policies that intended to promote domestic production created unintended consequences for Venezuela’s producers and consumers. The Land Act, implemented in 2001, transferred ownership of land from large, private landholders to poor Venezuelans and compensated the previous owners (Forero, 2009). Government officials intended for the redistribution of land to improve agricultural production at minimal cost, thus improving domestic control over Venezuela’s food supply However, not all farmers had the necessary capital and training to successfully manage their new farms. Farmers were further hindered by price controls which stunted profits. Worse still, farmers faced violent crime, theft, and extortion as people resorted to crime to support their livelihoods (Zuñiga & Miroff, 2017).

Figure 2. Production of major crops and animal protein as percentage of 2008 production

Part A. Source USDA