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Guatemala Announces
Contingency Plan Against Famine
Guatemala
Announces Contingency Plan Against Famine
Guatemala - The Guatemalan Agriculture
Ministry announced Monday that in the coming
weeks it will launch a contingency plan to
deal with a potential famine that could
threaten 2 million peasants.
The measure is based on a recommendation by
a regional early-alert system known as Mfews,
which is warning of the danger of a famine
in the face of poor harvests attributed to
climate change and farmers’ inability to
afford needed inputs.
The government “viewed the report with
concern” and will implement the plan over
the next few weeks in communities where
“there is greater urgency,” a ministry
spokesman told Efe.
Mfews said that the poor fertility of the
lands dedicated to agriculture and the heavy
rains at the end of last year are
threatening the food security of part of
Guatemala.
The document, published on the Mfews Web
page, warns that about 2 million poor
Guatemalans could be affected.
The report emphasizes that Guatemala’s food
and nutritional security has not yet shown
critical signs, but it issues an alert that
the situation could begin “to deteriorate
due to the fact that the annual period of
food scarcity began one month earlier than
anticipated.”
The provinces most affected by the pending
famine are Huehuetenango, Quiche and San
Marcos, in the western and northwestern part
of the country, along with Jutiapa and
Chiquimula, in the east.
Mfews adds that in the northern part of the
country the situation is tending to worsen
because of the so-called “tar spot” fungus,
which is destroying more than 60 percent of
the crop plantings, mainly corn.
“Although large areas of affected crops are
not being reported, it is certainly expected
(that there will be) a slight reduction in
output, which would result in fewer reserves
in homes that are already experiencing
problems with availability of foods,” the
report says.
According to official figures, 52 percent of
Guatemala’s 13.3 million people live in
conditions of poverty or extreme poverty.
A study released in February by the
education and health ministries found that
45.6 percent of Guatemalan children suffer
from chronic malnutrition and that their
physical growth falls below the average
established by the World Health
Organization.
On average, Guatemalan girls are between
eight and 12 centimeters shorter than the
average set by the WHO.
In indigenous areas, where poverty levels
are highest, the study found that 49.7
percent of children suffer from
malnutrition, mainly in the western
provinces of Solola and Totonicapan. EFE
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