The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) warned on Monday that the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, a colloquial name for periods of drought, may be a factor determining factor in food prices during those months. This means that the costs could increase the figures for food insecurity in Central America, with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua being the most affected.
In the year 2021, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization assured in a report that 8.7% of the population of Central America have difficulties accessing the minimum amount of food in the region. This means that at least 15 million people in that part of the world suffer from hunger due to the precariousness of the nutritional system in some countries.
In addition, in the words of the FAO report, at least 37.4% of Central Americans, some 65.7 million people, live in moderate or severe food and nutritional insecurity due to the economic crisis in the region. Of the population analyzed in the report, almost 20% come from Guatemala.
The outlook posed by the agency is less encouraging, as seasonal forecasts suggest a high probability of below-average rainfall and higher temperatures in the period from June to August. Given this, FAO calculations state that the dry conditions in this period are likely to affect the main maize crop with adverse effects on annual production.
Therefore, the drought is also expected to persist during the period from August to October, possibly affecting the main bean crop as well. “The decrease in the harvests of basic grains in 2023 could reduce food reserves for consumption and sale, increasing the dependence on the market of small farmers in Central America,” the FAO said.
Another factor that would be affecting the harvest in the region is the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which still persist in the global economy, and the global shortage of grains and other products due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which both are large producers of that ruble that have been diminished by the invasion that has been going on for a year and a half.
With information from EFE
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