Guatemala At Food Shortage Risk After
Drought
Guatemala
- Guatemala is at risk of a food shortage because a
drought has reduced more than 60 percent of
the production of corns and beans in five
key provinces, the Food Security Ministry
said on Monday.
According to news reaching here, the
ministry said the worst hit provinces are
Zacapa, Chiquimula, Jalapa, Jutiapa and El
Progreso. In El Progreso, 90 percent of the
bean crops that farmers planted have been
lost.
Around 4,000 settlements across those
provinces will suffer food shortages, a
figure which represents around 80 percent of
the population there.
State-run welfare body the Social Cohesion
Council said it is already financially
supporting 136 towns at the highest risk.
In May, the government approved a plan worth
273 million quetzals (around 33 million U.S.
dollars) to cover such emergencies. |
