According to the president of that association, Luis Tremiño, it is not true that this area is free of unemployment, and, on the contrary, labor is increasingly scarce.

The latest Household and Multiple Purpose Survey (EHPM) revealed that over 29,000 people were unemployed in agriculture, livestock and hunting, while criticism is increasing over the abandonment and lack of incentive to boost local production.

The statement contradicts statements made a few days ago by President Nayib Bukele in Argentina, where he stated that the agricultural sector, among others, was free of unemployment.

During his tour of Argentina, Bukele told senators of that country that in El Salvador “there is no unemployment in agriculture, there is no unemployment in construction, and there is no unemployment in tourism.”

In this regard, Tremiño said that the agricultural sector went from employing 473 thousand people to around 413 thousand workers in recent years. The president is being poorly advised or is being given information that is not correct, he said.

The EHPM for 2023 showed that year 29,600 people in agriculture, livestock and hunting were classified as unemployed.

After achieving a safe environment in the countryside due to the fight against gangs, the high cost of agricultural inputs, the cost of land rental and the climate cause producers to give up planting and lower jobs, not to mention that many workers take the path of emigration.

The director of Campo recalled that no administration in recent years has promoted an agricultural policy and the lack of attention to the area generated less production in the last harvests of basic grains and turned the country into a net importer of many products that were previously harvested here.

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