Sin Suelos Sin Comida: Examining the Relationship Between Soils, Sociology, and Food Security in El Salvador.

Despite a half century of agriculture intensification that has doubled global food production, hunger and malnutrition are still prevalent in developing countries. El Salvador has a considerable food-security challenge, in particular due to its high population density and lack of arable land. In El Salvador, the proportion of food insecure has consistently increased for the last decade and is higher in rural farming areas. Therefore, the most efficient and sustainable use of land for agricultural production is essential for El Salvador to address food security. While synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides have been efficient at improving yields, access to such products is limited and costs are often prohibitive.  Even for those smallholder producers that do use fertilizers, studies have shown their yields are still significantly low, in part from soil erosion. There is great potential to improve corn and bean yields and household food security through soil conservation and agroecological production practices in El Salvador. However, there is a lack of research documenting how soil conservation and agroecology can improve food security for smallholder farmers. The goal of this study is to characterize the relationship between production practices related to soil conservation and the levels of household food security of smallholder farmers in El Salvador. Results of semi-structured interviews conducted with 40 households from farm cooperatives will be analyzed by logistic regression analyses to evaluate the strongest drivers of corn and bean yields and household food security. The majority of households selected for interview had moderately high levels of food insecurity.  We hypothesize that farmers’ use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is socially driven, and that families with higher education, incomes, and  more informed insights on soil conservation have increased food security. The results of this research will be used to evaluate connections between social attributes, agroecological production, and food security of smallholder producers in El Salvador that might be not be realized when food security is assessed from a single discipline.