Under the program, each family will receive property worth US$2,000. They include a pregnant cow, a pregnant sow, five hens, one rooster and construction materials for pig and cow pens.
According to the World Bank, about 46 percent of Nicaraguans live in poverty and 15 percent live in abject poverty.
Saying that free trade with the US was unfair, Ortega told the crowd that he was glad that the trade between Taiwan and Nicaragua was fair because Taiwan engages in long-term investment to help improve his country's economy.
Taiwan-invested textile plants in Nicaragua employ about 30,000 Nicaraguan citizens.
Two-way trade between Taiwan and Nicaragua topped US$46 million in 2005, with textiles, zippers, kitchenware, plastic products and knitwear making up the bulk of Taiwan's exports to Nicaragua, and frozen beef, coffee, scrap metals, timber and cotton fabrics forming the bulk of its imports from the Central American country.
Ortega described the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) signed with the US as "fraud" and encouraged Taiwanese businesses to invest in his country and Central America. He also urged Central American countries to cooperate with each other to create a win-win situation.
Taiwan and Nicaragua signed a FTA in June last year and the Nicaraguan National Assembly approved the pact in December the same year. In addition to the deal with Nicaragua, Taiwan has signed FTAs with Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, with some pending legislative approval.
Chen's stay in Nicaragua will include a scheduled visit to a hospital that specializes in heart diseases and which faces financial difficulties.
The president is scheduled to wrap up his visit today and head home via Alaska.
Additional reporting by CNA and AFP
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