Aug 31 (Reuters) – El Niño weather phenomenon is driving a severe food crisis across Central America’s Dry Corridor, with more than 70,000 corn-farming households reporting devastating crop losses, according to a report by Oxfam.
The Dry Corridor is a drought-prone region spanning parts of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, where subsistence farmers rely on corn and beans as staple crops. A joint assessment with aid group Action Against Hunger across 58 municipalities found the crisis has affected about 91,000 rural households.
• About 78.6% of corn-growing households lost between 75% and 100% of their production, while 64.2% of households retaining corn reserves estimate stocks will last three weeks or less.
• Nearly two-thirds of bean-growing households experienced losses of 75% to 100% of their production.
• Drought was cited as the main cause of crop losses in 89% of communities.
• More than 23,000 households reported reduced access to their primary water supply.
• El Niño is a weather phenomenon that warms the surface of the Pacific Ocean and causes intense rains and droughts across Latin America.
• More than 6,200 migration movements were documented in the three months prior to the assessment, with returning migrants without remittances adding pressure on households.
(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Raul Cortes Fernandez, Editing by Natalia Siniawski)
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