Cojedes

Cojedes State occupies the northwestern llanos—flat plains below 210 meters surrounded by Yaracuy, Carabobo, Guárico, Barinas, Portuguesa, and Lara. This geographic centrality within Venezuela's agricultural heartland makes Cojedes part of the rice and corn belt that feeds the nation, alongside Portuguesa, Guárico, and Barinas.

Since colonial days, cattle raising dominated local economy, with over 500,000 head plus 5 million pigs and poultry contemporary production. But crop cultivation increasingly defines Cojedes: rice and corn are major outputs, with the state among the five leading corn producers (Portuguesa, Guárico, Barinas, Cojedes, Yaracuy). Cotton, yams, sorghum, and tobacco diversify agricultural output.

The 2023/2024 crop year brought positive change: rice and maize production increased 20% and 30% respectively over prior years, improving market availability and stabilizing prices. Cojedes joined Portuguesa, Guárico, and Aragua as main production centers with highest yields. This recovery from historically low levels suggests that agricultural systems can rebound when basic conditions permit.

Yet constraints persist: financing remains the major obstacle across Venezuelan agriculture. Fuel supply instability, electrical failures, deteriorating rural roads, declining public services, and inflation all challenge producers. Cojedes farmers, like their counterparts statewide, lack access to credit that would enable scaling production toward historical capacity.

By 2026, Cojedes's trajectory depends on whether the grain recovery can consolidate despite infrastructure constraints, or whether the same factors that caused initial collapse limit permanent agricultural restoration.