The food insecurity reaches unprecedented levels. The combination of extreme weather events and economic tensions in Latin America deepens the precariousness.
By 2026, more than 318 million people could face severe hunger, a figure that doubles that of 2019. International projections indicate that the resources allocated to humanitarian assistance are increasingly insufficient.
The global organizations estimate that only one-third of those in urgent need of support can be assisted. The financial gap leaves millions exposed to increasingly recurrent nutritional crises.
The increase in simultaneous famines in different regions reveals the fragility of the food system. Conflicts, climate crises, and economic imbalances feed off each other. The result is a perfect storm that threatens to become structural.
Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean
The region faces growing vulnerability. Droughts, floods, hurricanes, and variability associated with El Niño affect essential crops, eroding agricultural productivity and increasing the cost of accessing food.
Countries in the Central American Dry Corridor report repeated crop losses. For this reason, rural families live with minimal reserves and rely on external assistance. Their livelihoods become increasingly unsustainable with each climate blow.
In the Caribbean, extreme events exacerbate existing crises. Haiti remains one of the most exposed territories, as environmental degradation and social instability prevent the guarantee of basic food.
Meanwhile, in South America, prolonged droughts and floods have affected productive areas. In fact, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, and Argentina are the most affected by the direct impacts on their agricultural systems. At the same time, migrant populations depend on food programs to survive.
Environmental causes that increase food insecurity
Extreme weather events intensify with the advance of global warming. Increasingly prolonged droughts reduce the availability of water for irrigation and consumption. This impoverishes the soil and decreases agricultural productivity.
Floods, on the other hand, wipe out entire crops in a matter of hours, as torrential rains promote erosion and degradation of fertile lands. For this reason, thousands of families that depend on small plots lose their only source of food.
At the same time, rising temperatures alter biological cycles of crops and pests, increasing agricultural losses and reducing yield per hectare. The greater the environmental degradation, the greater the dependence on external aid and price volatility.
Deforestation also plays a critical role. By removing forests that protect watersheds and regulate the local climate, droughts and floods intensify, and even the lack of vegetative cover increases, thus reducing the territory’s natural resilience.
What measures can be taken to reduce their effects
In this scenario, climate adaptation becomes essential to ensure food. In this sense, crop diversification improves resistance to extreme events and seeds adapted to droughts or heavy rains allow for sustained production.
Ecosystem restoration is another key tool. Reforesting watersheds and recovering degraded soils protect water sources and stabilize the local climate, as well as agroforestry systems, which combine trees and crops, increasing productivity without harming the environment.
Strengthening family agriculture improves food security. Access to technology, training, and financing increases community resilience, while early warning systems help anticipate droughts or floods and reduce losses.
Globally, the sustained increase in humanitarian funding is urgent. International organizations require stable resources to sustain their programs. Without this support, millions could fall into deeper levels of food insecurity.
