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STORY: COP 22 / GUATEMALA DROUGHT RESISTANCE
TRT: 02:18
SOURCE: IFAD
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: JUNE 2016, JALAPA AND EL PROGRESO DEPARTMENTS, GUATEMALA
1. Tilt up, dry land in Guatemalan country-side
2. Wide shot, farmers attempting to plant beans on dry land
3. Close up, farmer dropping beans
4. Close up dry land
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alfonso Rodriguez, Farmer:
“There have been many losses. There have been farmers that have lost even the seed of their crops; they didn't collect anything at all.”
6. Wide shot, technical advisor inspecting water collection tank
7. Various shots, technical advisor illustrating water filtering system
8. Tilt up, form ducts to farming fields
9. Various shots, drip irrigation pipes being installed on field
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Arturo Lemus Galan, Project Director:
“We are rehabilitating more than 6000 hectares of land destined to food production, and we are introducing new production alternatives. We are also supporting the construction of new irrigation schemes, as well as the rehabilitation of seven old irrigation schemes that were built in the 80’s and were not being used.”
11. Various shots, farmer Alfonso Rodriguez next to his farm’s water collector tank
12. Close up, water drop falling on sprout
13. Close up, water drops falling on green pepper shrub with ground covered in nylon
14. Med shot, nylon cover on soil underneath row of green shrubs
15. Wide shot, Rodriguez showing greenhouse cover over rows of pepper shrubs
16. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alfonso Rodriguez, Farmer:
“Before, when we were farming in an open field, the production was 1,000-1,200 boxes per harvest. Now I have already produced 1,200 boxes and we are not even half way through the harvest. God willing, I will arrive to 5,000-6,000 boxes by the end of the harvest.”
17. Various of farmer picking peppers
To help farmers face increasingly dire conditions cause by draught in Guatemala, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting the construction of water collection tanks and new irrigation systems, as well as the renovation of abandoned ones.
Traditionally relying on rain-fed agriculture, Guatemalan families living in the region known as the Dry Corridor were among the hardest hit by this year’s droughts, losing up to 80 percent of their maize and beans crops, the staples in the region.
Guatemalan authorities report that over 230,000 families live in areas of the country that have been increasingly suffering from prolonged droughts and uncertain weather patterns, and many rely on government-supported food aid.
To maximize water use efficiency, IFAD implemented better farming practices such as drip irrigation ducts which ensure minimal waste of water and optimal use of fertilizers, or nylon covers for irrigated soil that prevent quick water evaporation, and greenhouses to keep plants moist and to protect them from diseases and parasites.
Now, more than 6,000 families are feeling the impact, and the increased agricultural activity is generating 15,000 jobs.
The Government of Guatemala expects the conditions of people in the dry corridor to worsen if IFAD's projects are not replicated on a larger scale.
The Ministry of Agriculture is currently trying to raise funds to implement a bold plan to bring water and manage it sustainably to all the 45,000ha of arable land available in the Dry Corridor.
Climate change threatens to derail effort to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, which the international community has committed to doing by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Agenda.
