Showing posts with label hunger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hunger. Show all posts

Monday, July 20, 2015

Drought and torrential rains

It’s been a very dry year so far – and this is a cause for concern. It has also been very hot!


A lagoon that I have often passed appears to be drying up – partly due to the drought, partly to the local government that has been sucking out the water for use on road work.



The rainy season usually begins in May but this year there has been little rain. In some places, the ground is dry and hard; so people have not planted. Others who planted earlier have been fearing that their crops would dry up or would yield only a limited crop.

There is a concern about possible hunger scenarios.


But the weather yesterday and today may mark the beginning of the rainy season.

Yesterday was a beautiful day.

As I left the Celebration of the Word with Communion here in Plan Grande, I remarked to someone how clear and fresh it was.


In the afternoon I went to the youth group meeting in the nearby aldea of Candelaria, noting the threatening sky in the distance.


The rains came in the middle of the meeting and the torrential rains on the tin roof made it almost impossible to hear each other. So I did an activity with them – a trust fall.

After the meeting I drove home – in the midst of rain and fog.

When I arrived at the house I noted that the electricity was off. Then I went upstairs and noted a little lake on the terraza.


The drain is too small for all the rain to flow out and so I proceeded to push water over the side with a broom.


The rains continued – something with a lot of force – during most of the evening and into the night.

When I got up about 6:00 am, the electricity was still off and a thick fog engulfed the house.


Ar midmorning it's overcast, but the sun is peaking through the clouds.



Whether the dry season is over, I do not know. I hope so – for the well-being of the people.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Coals to Newcastle: corn to Honduras

Will someone explain this to me? Somehow this doesn’t seem right.

Today, the US Department of Agriculture issued a press release on an agreement between US and Honduran agricultural officials:

Through the Food for Progress Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service will provide the government of Honduras with 30,000 metric tons of U.S. yellow corn and 18,000 tons of U.S. soybean meal, valued at approximately $17 million. The Honduran government will use proceeds from the sale of the commodities to implement projects aimed at improving agricultural productivity, enhancing farmers' access to information and market skills, building government capacity, and strengthening local, regional and international trade in agricultural products.

Hondurans eat white corn. I don’t know anyone who eats soybean meal, though it may be used in some commercial products.

corn drying in the sun
The corn and the soybean meal will be sold – but to whom?

Why doesn’t the US just sell the food and give the money to Honduras?

According to one source, Honduras produces 430,000 metric tons a year. Another source noted how corn production in Honduras dropped about 10% last year.

But how will this yellow corn sale really help hungry Hondurans? 

Will it help them produce sustainably, so that their families can eat well?

I have seen how the Food for Education Program works and it does seem to enhance the lives of school in rural schools.

But will this aid promote long-term sustainability or will it tie farmers into the ups and downs of export agriculture and contribute to the cost of basic foodstuffs that may have to be bought rather than produced by the small farmers?

And which farmers will profit - those in the US who sold the corn, those in Honduras who may see their corn prices crop, the big farmers who take advantage of the US aid? 

 The press release claims that

The projects supported by this new agreement will focus on the creation of jobs and income opportunities for some of Honduras' most vulnerable citizens. The beneficiaries will include small farmers, as well as small businesses and producer organizations, particularly those that support rural women and youth.

Will someone please explain to me how this will help the people here?

I have my doubts.

I also wonder if we can trust the Honduran government to really utilize the money well for the benefit of the really poor or if the money and programs will be used to further the political interests of the people and political parties in power.

Will someone explain this to me?