Attachments
Preliminary Appeal Target: US$1,396,955
Balance Requested: US$ 1,396,955
Geneva, 6 October 2014
Dear Colleagues,
A drought associated with the "El Niño" phenomenon has caused severe impacts in Central America, where it has damaged a large part of the corn and bean crops.
In El Salvador the government has declared a national state of emergency due to losses of up to 30% of the annual corn harvest and 90% of the annual bean crop.
In Honduras, the government has declared a state of emergency in the dry corridor, where 76,712 families are badly affected by the drought.
In Nicaragua, Estelí, Madríz, Chinandega, and Nueva Segovia are the most affected districts, nearly 75% of the corn crop has been lost. An estimated 100,000 families are most affected.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network calculates that losses in subsistence agriculture in the affected areas of the region reach up to 70%, causing severe difficulties in access to agriculture inputs and food for subsistence farmers. It is forecasted that the drought will keep the rain patterns at very low levels until the end of the year, thereby affecting the second harvest of basic grains. This aggravates food insecurity for the region.
The target population of this project includes subsistence farmers who find themselves in a situation of food insecurity as a result of the prolonged drought in the Central America region. The resultant effects of the drought will be increased poverty, migration, and hunger into the year 2015.