2016: President Maduro Established a National Food Distribution Program             The Percentage of Undernourished People Declined by 75%

Prior to 2016, the distribution of processed food items was largely done by the Venezuelan private sector. The government acquired foreign currency from exports of oil and sold the currency at preferential prices to private companies. These companies imported raw food items and processed them into consumer products and distributed them in markets. 80% of the food consumed in Venezuelan was imported. Corn was imported, processed into precooked corn flour, and sold for the making of arepas which are a staple of Venezuelan diets.

 In 2015, the worldwide price of oil declined by 60% reducing Venezuela’s export revenue by $63 billion. With reduced foreign currency available, food imports declined. Shelves empty of processed food appeared in stores and the prices of food items increased dramatically. As a result of food shortages and the inability of people to pay the higher prices, food consumption decreased and undernourishment increased. The percentage of people who were undernourished increased from 4% in 2013-2015 to 24% in 2016-2018.[1]

In April 2016, President Nicolas Maduro launched: Local Provisioning and Production Committees, (CLAPs). [2] The government purchased food directly from international suppliers and from private suppliers in Venezuela. The government coordinated with organized community bodies (CLAPs) to distribute mixed food packages at reduced prices to poor households. Communities are responsible for organizing themselves into CLAPs, conducting community censuses and organizing regular community distributions. Through a massive coordinated effort, CLAPs reached an estimated 2 million families in the first year.[2]

 Vice President Delcy Rodriguez reported that in 2024, CLAPs distributed 132 million food boxes, with items containing 140,000 tons of protein. [3] The percentage of malnourished people decreased from 24% in 2016-18 to 6% in 2022-24.[1]  



1.FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#country/236

2. Schiavoni, Christna McGee, Constructing and Contesting Food Sovereignty: Food Lines, Fault Lines and Seeds of Transformation in Venezuela, 2019

3. Orinoco Tribune, Venezuela VP: CLAPs Distributed 132 Million Food Boxes in 2024, January 6, 2025

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