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Ismael
Xalin |
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Ismael harvests his bean crop ready for export
Photo: Jo Lyon/Oxfam
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Ismael Xalin is a small farmer who owns a number of small plots
of land, spread out over the hillside.
Ismael needs to walk for 30-45 minutes, carrying all his equipment,
before he can start work on his land. He then needs to carry the
vegetables he has picked back to the road, so that they can be taken
by lorry to the nearest town and sold in the market, or packed for
export.
Ismael says: “I grow tomatoes, chilli peppers, onions, and
green and yellow beans. The tomatoes and onions are sold in Guatemala,
but we export the beans to the USA now, where we get a better price
for them. Ten years ago we did not know about yellow beans, they
were a new experiment. They sell well, and we get a good price for
them."
"Before we exported vegetables, we earned only enough to survive,
and the price of traditional crops was falling. Since I have been
growing crops for export, I have been able to build a house, send
my children to school, and pay off my debts. The whole family has
benefited.”
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