Caribbean & Central America - September 2014 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Up to 2.8m people are struggling to feed themselves as a severe drought continues to blight Central America, according to a United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (UNWFP) report released on 4 September. The “dry corridor” of Central America, including southern Guatemala, northern Honduras, central Nicaragua and western El Salvador, has been particularly hard-hit by low rainfall linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon. In August, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) run by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) warned that the area may require the highest level of humanitarian assistance since Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Guatemala

At the end of August the Guatemalan government declared a state of emergency in 16 of the country’s 22 provinces. Pea, green bean and broccoli farmers estimate losses of 30-40% of their crop. The agriculture minister, Elmer López, said that 236,000 families had been affected by the drought. By declaring a state of emergency, the government can release funds to those who have lost their crops. Guatemala is due to begin distributing food aid in early October. Around half of the country’s population of 15m lives in poverty and the country has the world's fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua’s Institute of Territorial Studies, Ineter, says the country is experiencing its worst drought since 1976. The national livestock commission, Conagan, reported that 2,500 cattle died in July, and a further 600,000 of the country’s 4.1m livestock are on the verge of starvation. Nicaraguans reacted with a mixture of ridicule and scorn when a government land management expert, Guillermo Membrano, suggested breeding iguanas for consumption, due to their high protein content and low intake of water. In August the central bank cut its growth forecast to 4-4.5%, down from its previous estimate of 4.5-5%.

Honduras

Honduras’ rainy season is usually from May to November, but this year the drought has led to the ruin of 70% of corn crops and 45% of the bean harvest, affecting 72,000 families. Furthermore, the Honduran state energy company has begun rationing power for up to four hours a day, between 12 noon-2pm and 6pm-8pm, in several cities because of low water levels in dams that power hydro-electric plants. Aline Flores, the head of the main private business sector council, Consejo Hondureño de la Empresa Privada (Cohep), said that the rationing would hamper economic activity and increase costs.

In El Salvador, the government estimates that up to two-thirds of the country’s crops have been lost. Other countries in the region have also been hit, though the impact there is likely to prove less devastating. Costa Rica’s livestock and crop farmers have suffered losses totalling US$24m. Panama’s energy supply has also been hit by the regional drought because it gets 60% of all its energy from hydroelectric power. In May, officials declared about one-third of the country to be in a state of emergency. The water scarcity has even reached Colombia, where the cattle ranchers’ federation found 30,000 dead livestock.

In both Honduras and Nicaragua, red bean prices have risen by up to 129% between January and June 2014, according to FEWS NET. The precarious economic situation of many families in the region has been intensified by the fact that over the past two years, coffee producers have been hiring fewer seasonal coffee pickers and paying lower wages because of a coffee leaf rust or roya epidemic. However, with the introduction of more rust-resistant strains, production in the region is expected to rebound this year, though it is not clear this will be sufficient to mitigate the effect of the drought. According to FEWS NET, “Extremely poor households across large areas of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador will experience a rapid deterioration in their food security in early 2015.”

• Coffee output

After two years of declining output caused by coffee rust, the region is forecast to increase production by 870,000 bags to 16.2m. Honduras is expected to add 400,000 bags to last year’s 5m as rust-resistant trees from recently renovated land reach maturity. Guatemala expects to produce 200,000 bags more this year on 2013’s 3.6m bags. El Salvador, where production plunged 60% last year, expects to produce 675,000 bags.