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The annual lean season will begin early for poor households in the dry corridor, both in the east and the west. These households were affected by significant losses in staple production during the Primera season due to drought caused by the El Niño, as well as reduced income related to the coffee sector, due to damage from coffee rust and the drought, as well as reduced purchase prices for coffee. For the poorest households in the west, the lean season will begin between January and February, two to three months earlier than normal. For poor households in the east, it will likely begin one month early, in March.
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Households affected by losses upwards of 75 percent during the single staple cropping season in the temperate western highlands, as well as scarce employment opportunities apart from the below-normal labor demand and wages in the coffee and sugar cane sectors, are experiencing more limited food availability and access as compared to the east. Furthermore, these households have limited coping capacity after a full year of applying negative strategies such as consuming seeds and selling productive assets in confronting a prolonged period in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). These households are thereby in need of immediate assistance.
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With near-average Postrera bean harvests except in localized areas, and some casual labor opportunities in various crops, affected areas of the east are experiencing a seasonal improvement in food security outcomes from November, moving from Crisis (IPC Phase 3) to Stressed (IPC Phase 2). Household bean reserves will increase, along with cash income, increasing food availability and access until February, when poor households will again begin to enter Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and will be in need of external assistance.
This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here.