Guatemala

Guatemala
Guatemala is within:
Region:	Americas
Subregion:	Latin America and the Caribbean
Intermediate region:	Central America

Guatemala is the northernmost country in Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize, the Caribbean Sea, Honduras, and El Salvador to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. In 2021, the total rural population in Guatemala was 8,712,360 and the total crop cultivated area was 2,737,000 ha. The agricultural sector plays a vital role in Guatemala's economy, contributing approximately 25% to the GDP and employing 50% of the workforce.

Despite having the largest economy in Central America and strong economic growth, poverty reduction has been limited, leaving Guatemala with some of the highest poverty and inequality rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. A significant portion of the population, particularly in rural and indigenous areas, remains underserved, with poverty estimated at 55.1 percent in 2023.

The increasing population has a strong need for staple foods like maize, wheat, potatoes, and beans. Yet, national food production falls short of satisfying the minimum requirements, leading to chronic malnutrition in 50 percent of children under five, with a significant impact on the indigenous population, which makes up half of the country’s residents.

Recently, there has been more CAL activity in Guatemala after many years without reports. In 2021, Guatemala declared a state of emergency due to CAL swarms that likely came from Mexico.

Species gallery

• Highlighted species for Guatemala
• 
  Common house cricket (Acheta domesticus)
• 
  False leaf katydid (Orophus tessellatus)
• 
  Black-sided pygmy grasshopper (Tettigidea lateralis)
• 
  Lactista stramineus
• 
  Broad-tipped conehead katydid (Neoconocephalus triops)
• 
  Northern green-striped grasshopper (Chortophaga viridifasciata)
• 
  Chromacris colorata
• 
  Gray bird grasshopper (Schistocerca nitens)
• 
  Bird grasshopper (Schistocerca pallens)
• 
  Central American locust (Schistocerca piceifrons)
• 
  Clipped-winged grasshopper (Metaleptea brevicornis)
• 
  Traveler grasshopper (Rhammatocerus viatorius)
• 
  Sumichrast toothpick grasshopper (Achurum sumichrasti)
• 
  Giant red-winged grasshopper (Tropidacris cristata)
• 
  Abracris flavolineata
• 
  Tropical house cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus)

Organizations

Locusts and grasshoppers are typically managed through a national plant protection system led by a country’s plant protection organization, ministry of agriculture, or equivalent biosecurity authority. They are often supported by specialized pest control branches, natural resource agencies, and regional bodies when outbreaks cross borders. These agencies are usually the first point of contact for surveillance, reporting, permits, quarantine decisions, and control operations. If the country belongs to one of the FAO locust commissions, those bodies provide a regional framework for early warning, field surveillance, information sharing, and coordinated response, helping countries align monitoring, contingency planning, and control actions across borders.

Organization name	Acronym	Website	Type	Focus	Geographic purview
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture	IICA	View	Non-governmental Organization	Development	Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
International Regional Organization of Plant and Animal Health	OIRSA	View	Intergovernmental Organization	Management, Governance, Education	Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic

Resources

Name	Species purview	Year published	Resource link	Descriptive keyword	Language	Geographic purview	Author
Action plan for managing the Central American locust		2019	View	Management, Biology, Species identification, Biopesticide, Robotics, Drones, Technology, Pesticide management, Survey	Spanish	Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic	International Regional Organization of Plant and Animal Health
Situation and recommendations for controlling the Central American locust in the countries of the OIRSA region		2020	View	Management, Geographical differences, Situation bulletin	Spanish	Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador	International Regional Organization of Plant and Animal Health

Highlighted media coverage

Name	Author	Language	Species purview	Substance	Resource link	Year published
Guatemala se declara en emergencia sanitaria por plaga de langosta		Spanish		News article		2021

Projects

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