Food Security

Honduras's agricultural science agency is strengthening the genetic traits of corn, rice, and beans to improve their resilience to drought and climate-change impacts.

Small-scale rancher Rolando Pastrana of Morolica, Choluteca, has lost six cattle to extreme heat and lack of water and feed, burning the carcasses to prevent contamination, as drought-stricken families in the area wait for rain with no government aid in sight.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina says no cattle deaths have been reported from the ongoing drought affecting 75 municipalities, though he acknowledged that poor preparation and lack of feed—compounded by the dry spell—are causing animal losses in some areas.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina warned that Honduras faces a prolonged dry season exceeding two months due to El Niño, threatening grain production and food security, though the government has allocated 1.5 billion lempiras in production incentives and will provide technical support to farmers.

Domestic rice output has fallen below 500,000 quintals against annual demand of 6 million, leaving Honduras to import roughly 90% of its supply from the US, Brazil, and Paraguay.

The government unveiled a 1.5-billion-lempira (roughly $60 million) incentive program targeting more than 300,000 corn, bean, coffee, and cattle farmers nationwide, with a drought-contingency plan and increased municipal transfers to help communities hardest hit by dry conditions.

Honduras has mobilized a $70 million humanitarian assistance plan, coordinated with the UN and COPECO, to support roughly 800,000 people affected by drought across the country.

Honduran experts warn that extreme temperatures above 42°C are spreading dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases into previously cool regions, driving a kidney-failure crisis in the south, and destroying crops that put 1.7 million people at risk of food insecurity.

Cattle are dying across a 75-municipality drought zone in southern Honduras as farmers and ranchers, who counted on rains in May, struggle without water or fodder and wait for government aid.

The government has placed 75 municipalities on green alert and 144 under observation, coordinating water distribution, food aid, agricultural support, and preventive health measures through SINAGER to protect communities from an approaching dry season.