By Annette Arceneaux
In Bolivia's Cochabamba region, small-scale farming has long provided farmers with a means to survive.
Each harvest meant income and food for their families.
But this was not the case after the disastrous effects of La Niña, which touched down in late 2007. Torrential rain fell in sheets across this Andean country, triggering floodwaters that in some cases destroyed over 60 percent of the crop yields. Since November of 2007, Bolivia and its neighbors have suffered intense rainfalls caused by the climatic phenomenon.
At least 79,000 of Bolivia's families were directly affected. Thousands saw damage to their homes and lost acres of crops. Many were still overcoming flood damage from the previous year. In Cochabamba alone, nearly 80 percent of farmers' fields were inundated, ruining potential harvests. Many of these poor farmers were subsisting on farming alone. They were forced to camp out in temporary shelters with little food or drinkable water.
Catholic Relief Services and our local Caritas partners have been by their side, providing over 2,000 families with food and other relief supplies along with long-term agricultural rehabilitation. Now, in the second phase of recovery, more than 1,000 families in Cochabamba, one of the hardest-hit areas, are receiving help with livelihood resilience, along with repairs to roads and farming infrastructure.
"These communities are very small and poor and did not receive the media attention that other, larger communities did during the flooding," says Daniela Zambroza, a Caritas project coordinator. "These are families that would have otherwise been forced to migrate and abandon their homes due to a lack of assistance and ability to support themselves."
The recent floods were the worst that Bolivia has seen in 40 years. It is estimated the overall damage, including damage to roads and bridges, will have an effect of a 1 percent decline on the country's economic growth for 2008.
Paralyzed farming
Across the eastern part of Bolivia, namely in the departments of Santa Cruz and Beni, agricultural production has been paralyzed. Soybean, corn, rice, banana and sugarcane farming and cattle raising have been hit the hardest. CRS and local Caritas offices in these regions are helping farmers mitigate their losses and improve crop yields by delivering farming tools and more flood-resistant seeds to them. Farmers will also receive technical training on selecting planting areas and using enhanced fertilizers and pesticides.
CRS is also helping prepare vulnerable communities for future rainy seasons, which typically begin in November. In recent years, the Caribbean and Latin America have been increasingly hit by destructive storms, further intensified by climatic phenomena known as El Niño and La Niña. Through the generous support of donors who contribute to alleviate the effects of severe weather in these regions, CRS is able to help families recover from such disasters and prepare for the ones ahead.
Our work in Bolivia
With our partner organizations, Catholic Relief Services Bolivia has been responding to the country's social and political challenges since 1955. Today, CRS programs focus on health, housing, water and sanitation, emergency response, peacebuilding, and the strengthening of civil society.
Annette Arceneaux was a summer intern at CRS headquarters in Baltimore.