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BAKU / LITTLE ROCK — Nov. 18, 2024 — As global leaders hold critical climate talks at COP29 this month, Heifer International urges direct funding for drought-stricken smallholder farmers in Latin America's Dry Corridor and the Amazon basin.
Unprecedented levels of drought in Latin America are leading to crop failures and strains on the agricultural sector, rising rates of hunger and poverty, and growing economic pressures driving migration. In October, rivers in the Amazon basin — waterways used for transport by many communities in the region — fell to record-low levels, limiting access to medical facilities, schools and critical services for local populations.
Smallholder farmers in this region play a crucial role in sustaining food systems. In rural areas, some 54% of the labor force in Latin America and the Caribbean is engaged in agriculture. Yet, despite bearing the brunt of escalating climate repercussions, like erratic rainfall and extreme temperatures, smallholders often lack the resources to adapt to and mitigate these challenges.
“Smallholder farmers must be empowered as active contributors to climate solutions,” said Surita Sandosham, CEO and President of Heifer International. “Heifer International stands ready to collaborate with governments, the private sector and civil society groups to drive solutions that ensure resilience, food security and economic stability for these communities.”
The Central American Dry Corridor — a region that extends from southern Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua — is highly vulnerable to climate extremes, enduring long periods of intense drought and erratic rainfall patterns. For example, this year in Guatemala alone, drought decimated 80% of cardamon crop harvests in the department of Alta Verapaz with the hardest-hit municipality of Chisec experiencing 184 days of drought.
At the end of 2023, 76% of Mexico was experiencing some degree of drought. For the coffee sector, estimates accounting for increasing temperatures, reduced rainfall and more recurrent and extreme weather phenomena foresee a 45% reduction in production in the region by 2050, if climate actions are not implemented across the value chain.
“Without urgent intervention, the prolonged drought threatens to intensify poverty and exacerbate migration from rural areas,” said Oscar Castañeda, Heifer International’s senior vice president of Americas Programs. “One lost harvest can wipe out much-needed income for nutritious food, shelter, medical care and other essential needs, threatening the lives and livelihoods of this already vulnerable population. The time is now to invest in resilience-building to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of this devasting drought.”
Heifer International works with smallholder farmers in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Haiti to support the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices and agroforestry techniques that build climate and ecological resilience, mitigate habitat loss and improve livelihoods.
At COP29, Heifer International is calling for leaders to deliver the below actions for smallholder farmers:
About Heifer International
Since 1944, Heifer International has worked with more than 52 million people around the world to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way, while caring for the Earth. Heifer currently operates in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States, supporting farmers and food producers to strengthen local economies and build secure livelihoods that provide a living income. For more information, visit https://www.heifer.org.
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