Arias specified Venezuela’s national subsidized food market, Mercal, its growing system of public cafeterias, and the state-run Venezuelan Food Production and Distribution company (PDVAL), which sells food at regulated prices, as examples of policies which “permit greater access to food for the most vulnerable strata of society.”
Venezuela has implemented several policies that the FAO recommends, including the fomenting of local food production through the strengthening of social networks, Arias pointed out.
Arias also praised the increase of state investment in the agricultural sector, efforts to organize producers, the expansion of citizen access to arable land through land reform, and the promotion of family farms under the administration of President Hugo Chávez.
Venezuela has also reached out to other Latin American countries to prepare joint strategies to deal with the food crisis. The trade bloc called the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, which is based on principles of mutual benefit and includes Venezuela and six other countries, has created a joint food company with funds pooled in a joint food security fund.
Arias said these efforts have paid off for the countries involved. “We believe there is a group of countries, including Venezuela, that is better prepared to confront this crisis and whatever other crisis that may come,” he said. “This is due to the institutionalization of food security in the region,” he added.
According to Venezuela’s Agriculture and Land Ministry, agricultural production in Venezuela rose by 3% last year, bringing the total increase in agricultural production to 24% since Chávez took office a decade ago. Specifically, corn production has increased by 205%, rice by 94%, sugar by 13%, and milk by 11% over the last decade, reducing Venezuela’s dependency on food imports.
In 2007, Venezuela became the first Latin American country to help the FAO finance agricultural production projects in third countries when it contributed $4.6 million to FAO small scale irrigation and water conservation projects in Mali and Burkina Faso. (MORE)
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4254--------
I still can't find the article on land reform. This article (above) mentions some of its successes. Basically, what the article I read a while ago said is that the Chavez government--unlike previous, stupid land reform--is promoting smart land reform, that is, land reform that, a) provides those given ag land technical support, support in organizing markets, and financial support, to do it right, and b) is requiring that they actually produce food, as a condition for eventually getting title to the land (which they can then deed to children but cannot sell). These measures eliminate the waste, corruption and failed efforts of previous (rightwing government) land reform programs. Previous governments not only created corruption-prone, failure-prone land reform programs, they totally neglected food security, and let Venezuela become almost entirely import-dependent for food, as well as everything else.
The article on the Chavez government's manufacturing/development programs (posted above this one) discusses the creation of local/regional auto manufacturing, tractor manufacturing, and naval shipbuilding, and other local/regional business/job creation programs. The rightwing governments totally neglected these sectors as well, and created an urban elite dependent on imports and getting rich on oil profits while letting their country and their poorer countrymen (the vast majority) go to hell. The item that I remember most particularly--from the article I can't find right now (which was about land reform and other sectors) is that the rich oil elite in Venezuela was even importing machine parts for the oil industry! This most obvious opportunity to create jobs for the poor and the less skilled was ignored--in their selfish pursuit of Gucci bags and Jaguar sports cars.
With attention to democratic institutions, such as honest, transparent elections, the grass roots political movements were able, finally, to elect a government and intelligent leadership that is working for everyone's good, not just the rich elite. And it is no wonder--reading the details of the Chavez government's economic program--that Chavez has a 70% approval rating.