city, northern Portuguesa estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. Formerly the state capital, Acarigua is a principal commercial centre of the northern portion of the Llanos (plains), in which cattle, sugarcane, cotton, corn (maize), and rice are the principal products. Industries in the city include sawmilling and dairying. Acarigua is accessible by air and by highway from Guanare, the state capital, 50 miles (80 km) to the southwest, and from Barquisimeto, capital of Lara estado, 50 miles (80 km) north-northwest. The city has been designated a rail centre under Venezuela's railway-expansion plan. Pop. (2001) 137,000.