2023-08-26 07:17:36
The initiative seeks to mobilize $36.9 million dollars to provide support to more than one million people in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela.
August 21, 2023, Santiago – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a response and anticipatory action plan with the objective of mobilizing $36.9 million dollars to provide assistance to vulnerable communities in Latin America facing the potential impact of the El Nino phenomenon.
The plan, announced within the framework of Humanitarian Assistance Month (officially commemorated on August 19), aims to provide support to 1,160,000 people in the Plurinational Republic of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Since June of this year, FAO began implementing anticipatory actions to mitigate potential impacts associated with the El Niño phenomenon on agricultural livelihoods and food security in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, acting beforehand to reduce humanitarian needs. and build resilience. In the coming months, support will also be provided to producer families at risk of El Niño, mainly indigenous peoples, in Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
The announced response and anticipatory action plan seeks to add support to current efforts to expand these interventions, providing help to more affected households and strengthening the food security of populations.
“The situation in Latin America and the Caribbean requires a joint and urgent response. We urge governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to unite to protect the food security and livelihoods of the most vulnerable rural families in the face of the critical scenario presented by El Niño. These efforts will not only reduce the potential impact of this phenomenon, but will allow building resilience to face climate change and climate variability that is also plaguing the region today,” said Mario Lubetkin, Deputy Director General and Regional Representative of FAO for Latin America and Caribbean.
The measures proposed in the anticipatory action and response plan include the delivery of drought-resistant seeds, support for the collection, storage and management of water, cash assistance, training in water resources management and actions for the protection of livestock. , artisanal fishing and crops.
This response plan is part of a global call that seeks to raise funds to deal with the El Niño phenomenon and incorporates, in addition to Latin America, countries from other regions such as Africa and Asia Pacific. In total, it seeks to mobilize $88.9 million to assist approximately 2,600,000 people.
Food Safety Risk
During 2022, around 17.8 million people in the region experienced levels of acute food insecurity at “crisis” or “emergency” levels, according to the Global Report on Food Crises. This type of acute (not chronic) food insecurity has increased in the region and is linked to a deterioration in livelihoods and a spiral of vulnerability capable of plunging people into poverty. For these people, mostly rural people, any new shock or stress from El Niño will have a devastating impact.
According to the FAO-supported Data Information System in Emergencies (DIEM), the majority of agricultural producers in the Dry Corridor are smallholder farmers who already register high levels of food insecurity and face challenges in accessing inputs. agricultural and veterinary inputs, as well as to market their products.
This tool, currently in use in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti -as well as in other countries around the world-, was recently awarded by the Environmental Systems Research Institute, the world’s largest provider of support for information systems. geographic information.
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