Drought leaves up to 2.81 m hungry in Central America: UN

Wednesday, 3 September 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: A severe drought has ravaged crops in Central America and as many as 2.81 million people are struggling to feed themselves, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Friday, though the region’s coffee crop has been largely unscathed. The drought, which is also affecting South America, has been particularly hard on the so-called “dry corridor” of Central America, which includes southern Guatemala, northern Honduras and western El Salvador. “The drought has killed us. We lost all our corn and beans,” said Olman Funez, a 22-year-old farmer who lives in Orocuina, a rural town in southern Honduras.

Funez earns $ 4.74 per diem as a day labourer, and says he and his wife are rationing what food they have. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega recently allowed 40,000 tons of red beans and 73,500 tons of white corn to be imported to help lower prices. Guatemala declared a state of emergency after 256,000 families lost their crop. “I am 60 years old, and this is the first time I have seen a crisis like this,” said Jesus Samayoa, a farmer in Jutiapa, about 160 km (99 miles) from Guatemala City. Pea, green bean and broccoli farmers estimate losses of 30% to 40% of their crop. Guatemala’s national coffee association Anacafe said earlier this month that a preliminary survey of two of the country’s coffee-growing regions, Santa Rosa and Jutiapa, revealed that drought will cause output to fall next season by 3%, or about 9,600 60-kg bags. However, none of Central America’s four other major coffee producers – Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua – have revised their output forecasts for the coming season due to the drought.