This factsheet presents recent data on the agricultural research system of Guatemala, primarily focusing on key financial, human resource, institutional, and output indicators, while also highlighting relevant trends, challenges, and institutional changes.

This report assesses trends in investments, human resource capacity, and research outputs in agricultural R&D—excluding the private (for-profit) sector—in LAC. It is an update of Stads and Beintema (2009), covering a more complete set of countries and focusing primarily on developments during 2006–2012/2013.1 The analysis draws largely from a set of country factsheets prepared by Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI), which is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), using comprehensive datasets derived from primary surveys and additional secondary sources targeting close to 700 agencies in 27 LAC countries.

Information in Guatemala about the variables causing poverty and their distribution is only found on a national scale, but local data are almost non-existent. This thesis tried to study some of the variables that could be causing poverty, at a local scale. Agriculture is the largest sector in Guatemala, employing more people than all other sectors combined. Therefore the study focussed on the relation that agricultural variables have with poverty, in the highlands of Guatemala. The aim of the research was to identify those variables that indicate poverty, and study their distribution around the area. With this purpose, a model was built using different variables and relating these to a real poverty map. The Land Use type, Farm Strategy, Market Development and Accessibility to markets were compared to the poverty level of the study area.

Guatemalan geography and population; Structure and performance of guatemalan economy; Role of agriculture in the economy; Structure of the agricultural sector; Supply and demand projections for basic foods; Governement policies and programs; Improving grain marketing; Marketing of basic foods; Alternative policies and programs.

Intensive agriculture has generally resulted in higher productivity, but also in a trend towards decreasing levels of agro-biodiversity, which represents a key point in ensuring the adaptability and resilience of agro-ecosystems in the global challenge to produce more and better food in a sustainable way. The biodiversity of vegetable crops includes genetic diversity—both as species diversity (interspecific diversity) and as a diversity of genes within a species (intraspecific diversity) with regard to the vegetable varieties grown—and the diversity of agro-ecosystems (agro-biodiversity). The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish high-quality research papers addressing recent progress and perspectives on different aspects related to the biodiversity of vegetable crops. Original, high-quality contributions that have not yet been published, or that are not currently under review by other journals have been sought. The papers in this Special Issue cover a broad range of aspects and report recent research results regarding agro-biodiversity, which continues to be of significant relevance for both genetic and agricultural applications. All contributions are of significant relevance and could stimulate further research in this area.

Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.