Nicaragua Agriculture

Just two weeks after torrential rain from tropical storm Mitch sent two-thirds of his coffee bushes sliding down a hillside, Pascual Salas went trudging back up that same foggy slope to try again--this time planting red beans. The wiry farmer was struggling to ensure survival for his family of eight girls. But in the process he has become an important figure in a much larger cause.

When Daniel Ortega accepted his stunning defeat by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in Nicaragua's presidential election last February, he vowed that the Sandinistas would "govern from below." Since Chamorro took office April 25, Sandinista unions have twice paralyzed the country with labor strikes--proving not that Sandinistas control the government but certainly that Chamorro's conservative coalition cannot govern without Sandinista cooperation.

Even as relief workers struggle to feed people stranded by the most destructive tropical storm in two centuries, Central American farmers are scrambling to save damaged crops for the longer term and focusing on new farming regions and methods. From corn and bean farmers, whose small plots feed their countries, to banana, coffee and sugar cane plantations, whose exports will pay off loans needed to rebuild roads and bridges, Central Americans are plotting recovery.

Severe drought has paralyzed Nicaragua's grain production, causing losses worth more than $100 million, the official newspaper Barricada said Thursday.

Angela Davila, 18, rises at dawn each day and picks coffee beans until dusk. Working in a war zone, surrounded by armed militiamen, she fills 11 baskets a day, 10 pounds per basket, or slightly more than her own weight and nearly double her production quota. In the language of revolutionary Nicaragua, Angela is the "vanguard" among women on this state-run collective farm. If she stays ahead in the coffee-picking competition, she will win a radio when the four-month harvest ends this month.

Contra leaders pledged Saturday to begin the stalled process of disarming their forces this week in return for the permanent demilitarization of a remote corner of Nicaragua where former guerrillas will settle as pioneer farmers with government aid. The accord, announced at 1 a.m. after 15 hours of talks, was the first step by President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's 10-day-old administration to demilitarize Nicaragua after eight years of war between the U.S.

This country will seek $302 million in cash from the United States to revive food production and jump-start its war-battered economy in the first year of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's post-revolutionary government, her chief economic adviser said Friday.

It was payday on this state-owned rice farm, but that was just half the excitement. A mysterious Cessna, the first aircraft seen up close in years, circled low over the flat green fields, dropped a small plastic bag and disappeared into the overcast. " Saludos to everyone in Cuatro Palos," a handwritten note in the bag said. It was signed "Iliana, Klaus, Juergen, Peter, Tom and Inge."

Desperate to escape a $4.3-billion hostile takeover bid by Batus Inc. and its British parent, once staid and reticent Farmers Group of Los Angeles has declared global war. In the past two weeks, Farmers has sought to link its unwanted suitor to everything from racism to lung cancer.

When Daniel Ortega accepted his stunning defeat by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in Nicaragua's presidential election last February, he vowed that the Sandinistas would "govern from below." Since Chamorro took office April 25, Sandinista unions have twice paralyzed the country with labor strikes--proving not that Sandinistas control the government but certainly that Chamorro's conservative coalition cannot govern without Sandinista cooperation.

It was payday on this state-owned rice farm, but that was just half the excitement. A mysterious Cessna, the first aircraft seen up close in years, circled low over the flat green fields, dropped a small plastic bag and disappeared into the overcast. " Saludos to everyone in Cuatro Palos," a handwritten note in the bag said. It was signed "Iliana, Klaus, Juergen, Peter, Tom and Inge."

Contra leaders pledged Saturday to begin the stalled process of disarming their forces this week in return for the permanent demilitarization of a remote corner of Nicaragua where former guerrillas will settle as pioneer farmers with government aid. The accord, announced at 1 a.m. after 15 hours of talks, was the first step by President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's 10-day-old administration to demilitarize Nicaragua after eight years of war between the U.S.

This country will seek $302 million in cash from the United States to revive food production and jump-start its war-battered economy in the first year of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's post-revolutionary government, her chief economic adviser said Friday.

Desperate to escape a $4.3-billion hostile takeover bid by Batus Inc. and its British parent, once staid and reticent Farmers Group of Los Angeles has declared global war. In the past two weeks, Farmers has sought to link its unwanted suitor to everything from racism to lung cancer.

Even as relief workers struggle to feed people stranded by the most destructive tropical storm in two centuries, Central American farmers are scrambling to save damaged crops for the longer term and focusing on new farming regions and methods. From corn and bean farmers, whose small plots feed their countries, to banana, coffee and sugar cane plantations, whose exports will pay off loans needed to rebuild roads and bridges, Central Americans are plotting recovery.

Just two weeks after torrential rain from tropical storm Mitch sent two-thirds of his coffee bushes sliding down a hillside, Pascual Salas went trudging back up that same foggy slope to try again--this time planting red beans. The wiry farmer was struggling to ensure survival for his family of eight girls. But in the process he has become an important figure in a much larger cause.

Severe drought has paralyzed Nicaragua's grain production, causing losses worth more than $100 million, the official newspaper Barricada said Thursday.

Angela Davila, 18, rises at dawn each day and picks coffee beans until dusk. Working in a war zone, surrounded by armed militiamen, she fills 11 baskets a day, 10 pounds per basket, or slightly more than her own weight and nearly double her production quota. In the language of revolutionary Nicaragua, Angela is the "vanguard" among women on this state-run collective farm. If she stays ahead in the coffee-picking competition, she will win a radio when the four-month harvest ends this month.