SAN AGUSTIN ACASAGUASTLAN, Guatemala (Reuters) – Drought and crop failures are widespread threats in Guatemala, where hunger and malnutrition are widespread, especially in rural areas. International aid programs are trying to address this reality.

UN World Food Programme staff want to train people in rural Guatemala in sustainable farming methods to combat malnutrition.

Guatemala is located in an area known as the Central American Dry Corridor. In the past decade, droughts have been longer and more severe, and extreme weather events such as hurricanes have caused extensive damage.

This leaves families living in the Dry Corridor, especially small and medium-sized farmers and indigenous peoples, vulnerable and unable to properly feed their children.

UNICEF data shows that Guatemala’s stunting rate is consistently among the highest in Latin America. In 2022, 44 percent of children in Guatemala were outside the normal height for their age.

“Before, we didn’t know what fish farming was. There was a lot of malnutrition here,” said Lilian Ramos, a fish producer in the Tecuiz community of San Agustin Acasaguastlan, a city in the Dry Corridor.

Her young children accompany her to a pond, where she casts a net and catches several fish.

“We started with a small well and watched as we grew little by little,” Ramos adds.

The World Food Programme’s training focuses on using innovation and anticipatory measures to minimize damage to crops and food sources. This enables local farms to withstand adverse weather conditions and continue to produce.

“We do see some improvements… it is an excellent model that, also in terms of penetration, is an example for other countries that are also facing challenges from climate change,” said Tania Goossens of the World Food Programme in Guatemala.