Subsistence farmers in the dry corridor are vulnerable to Food Insecurity

According to meteorological forecasts for the first quarter of 2019, rainfall behavior is expected to be irregular in its temporal and spatial distribution, with rainfall below the average, particularly in the Caribbean region of Central America, conditions that put planting and production at risk for grains in localized areas of Honduras and Nicaragua for the Apante season.

The losses due to drought in the Primera crops and the damages in the Postrera sowings due to excess rain did not allow subsistence farmers to secure food stocks for the lean season that will start in March instead of May. Depending on the extent of losses, certain households are relying on the market since September for the purchase of their staple foods and those who obtained marginal harvests will have reserves to cover the next two months.

Currently, the main sources of temporary employment are the production of tropical fruits, the cutting of sugarcane, the production of shrimp and mainly the coffee harvest, whose activity does not present expectations of salary improvements, reducing food access for the poorest.

Maize prices maintain their seasonal trend stabilizing above last year and the five-year average, except for Nicaragua, which registers upward variations due to production losses and damages. Bean prices are decreasing and are comparable to those of last year and average of last five years.

Households of subsistence farmers and agricultural laborers, in areas of concern in the region, without food reserves and with employment limitations, will face Stressed (IPC, Phase 2) food insecurity, from January to March 2019; nevertheless, the poorest households in isolated communities, without basic services, could Crisis (IPC, Phase 3) outcomes in the same period.