Some figures are read quickly and forgotten, but others describe changes that are felt at the dinner table of a rural family. That is the case with the latest analysis by the Colegio de Ciencias Económicas on the agricultural sector: over three years, activity grew very little, production costs rose, and rural employment declined while the rest of the economy was creating jobs.
This article does not repeat what the media have already published. Its purpose is to explain what these numbers mean, how they connect to one another, and what is worth watching in the coming months.
What the analysis says, with its figures
According to Delfino.cr, the Colegio de Ciencias Económicas de Costa Rica estimated that the agricultural sector lost 13,444 jobs between January 2024 and August 2026. The organization based its data on the Encuesta Continua de Empleo of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC). In that same period, total employment in the country increased by 25,346 jobs.
El Mundo CR, which also covered the study, notes that agricultural activity had an average growth of 1.01%, compared with 4.39% for national production. By subsector, agriculture oriented to the local market grew 0.47%, export agriculture grew 1.20%, and livestock activity grew 2.39%. All of them stayed below the average for the economy.
Growing 1% a year: why it is not the same as stagnating
An average growth rate of 1.01% may seem small, but it is worth reading in context. When an economy grows more, its sectors tend to generate jobs and absorb those looking for work. If an activity grows below the overall average, it loses relative weight, even if it does not fall in absolute terms.
That is why the most revealing data point is not just the rate, but the comparison. Agriculture did not fall outside growth; it fell behind it. This lag helps explain why the loss of jobs appears alongside a country that, as a whole, did create jobs.
The squeeze between costs and prices
The point that most concerns the sector is margins. According to the sources, agricultural production costs rose 5.34% in the 24 months ending in August 2026, and chemical fertilizers account for a large part of that increase, at 16.73%. This data comes from the Sondeo de Precios Promedio de Venta de Insumos Agropecuarios en Agroservicios, prepared with information from the Sistema de Información del Sector Agropecuario Costarricense (SISAC).
The mechanism is simple to describe. A producer buys inputs at one price and sells their harvest or product at another. If inputs rise and the selling price does not rise by the same amount, the difference comes out of their pocket as lower profitability. The analysis points out that this problem worsens when inflation is low and some foods even fall in price, because the producer has less room to pass the cost on to the buyer.
This dynamic does not depend on a single farm or a single year. When margins shrink over several periods, decisions about investment, hiring and planting become more cautious, and that effect spreads across the entire chain of work that depends on the countryside.
Rural employment: a figure that weighs on the territory
Agricultural employment is not distributed evenly across the country. According to the analysis, in cantons such as Matina the sector accounts for a very high share of the labor market: 64 out of every 100 employed people work in this activity. In those places, a decline in agriculture is felt in nearly every household, not only among those who work directly on the farm.
Luis Vargas Montoya, economist at the Colegio, highlighted the importance of the sector for food security and for rural communities. His message points to the need for productive and employment policies aimed at agriculture, beyond the current situation.
Risks on the horizon: climate and external markets
The Colegio warns about three fronts: climate phenomena, international prices of agricultural products, and the cost of fertilizers. Delfino.cr mentions climate phenomena in general terms; El Mundo CR specifies that the risk includes El Niño, a pattern associated with the warming of Pacific waters that alters rainfall. According to that same report, its effects can translate into lower yields, production losses and higher operating costs.
El Mundo CR also attributes to the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) a projection of a 0.7% contraction in agricultural activity in 2027. This is a figure the editor must verify in the original source, because the available excerpt is incomplete.
Producers have little capacity to influence these factors. Neither the climate nor international prices are controlled from the farm, and for that reason the analysis insists on risk management and on mechanisms that reduce vulnerability to external changes.
What the sector can do, in general terms
Without getting into technical decisions, there are planning ideas that often come up in the debate on agricultural resilience: diversifying crops and markets, keeping cost records to anticipate the impact of each increase, using climate information to schedule planting, and coordinating efforts among producers to negotiate inputs. Any specific management decision should be consulted with an agricultural technician.
For institutions, the discussion revolves around productivity, innovation and climate risk management, as the guild itself proposes. The underlying question is whether these measures will arrive in time to stop the loss of rural jobs.
The essentials
- According to the Colegio de Ciencias Económicas, agriculture lost 13,444 jobs between January 2024 and August 2026, while total employment in the country grew by 25,346 jobs.
- Agricultural activity grew on average 1.01%, below the 4.39% of national production.
- Production costs rose 5.34%, with chemical fertilizers as the main pressure, and producers have difficulty passing those increases on to their prices.
News sources
- Delfino.cr: Colegio de Ciencias Económicas advierte que el agro perdió 13.444 empleos desde 2024
- El Mundo CR: Sector agropecuario sigue enfrentando dificultades para crecer, señala el Colegio de Ciencias Económicas