EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
STATE OF EMERGENCY
MAJOR DISASTERS
DROUGHT IN CENTRAL AMERICA
CROP DISASTERS
COFFEE RUST PLAGUE
RISING FOOD PRICES
HUNGER
SCENARIOS 808, 444, 300, 277, 255, 100, 03, 02
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Drought leaves millions hungry in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua
Drought has destroyed crops and devastated livelihoods across the so-called “Dry Corridor,” a drought-prone area shared by Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, said the world Food program (WFP).
“Some 2.5 million people in Central America need food assistance due to the combined impact of severe drought, the Coffee Rust plague and a spike in food prices. WFP is working with the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to provide food assistance to 1.4 million people, but there are challenges.”
Millions of subsistence farmers and day-to-day laborers in Central America “are in a critical situation due to the combination of three factors,” said WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“First, they lost their subsistence crops, mostly beans and maize, to the drought. Second, due to the outbreak of the Coffee Rust plague in 2012, coffee production dropped and so did the demand for jobs and the families’ income. And finally, a shortage of beans and maize has caused a rise in food prices in all countries.”
“Some families resort to dangerous survival tactics, such as skipping or reducing the size of meals. Others simply stop sending their children to school to save money. Others send the head of households to Mexico or the United States to find jobs,” he said.
Conditions are expected o deteriorate further early next year because of poor harvests, forecasters said..
“These people grow mostly maize and beans to feed their families, but these crops demand lots of water,” he added.
Meantime, Guatemala has declared a state of emergency after more than ¼ million families lost their crops due to the drought.
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