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Beans are strategically important to assure food security in Central America. However, Central American countries face several challenges that must be addressed in order to promote a sustainable growth of the bean subsector, such as (i) relatively low yields of bean production, (ii) growing necessity to import beans to meet consumers demand, (iii) high transaction costs and information asymmetry that limit the access of producers to urban markets, and (iv) the growing consolidation of urban food retailers that is changing the way bean are bought and sold.
To address these challenges, interviews with key informants were conducted in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and secondary data were collected to document the situation in the region, and assess options for increasing the competitiveness of the subsector in the future.
Research programs in Central America need to pay special attention to improving bean yields in the region. Improving yield will also increase their competitiveness and reduce their dependence on bean imports from outside the region. Also, more research is needed to find ways of distributing improve seed varieties to small farmers, as well as information that will reduce farmer's transaction cost. Finally, researchers need to address the growing consolidation of the food retail sector and its effect on bean markets.