Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
32.1% of surveyed households show clear signs of deterioration in children's diets; the proportion reaches 56.2% in Honduras.
60.9% of farming families in the Dry Corridor of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador have insufficient food reserves.
85.2% of surveyed farming families were affected by late or irregular rainfall in the Dry Corridor of northern Central America.
October-December 2026 forecasts indicate more than a 70% probability of below-normal rainfall in Honduras, Nicaragua, eastern Guatemala, eastern El Salvador and other parts of southern Central America. The outlook coincides with establishment and development of Segunda/Postrera crops and very strong El Niño conditions.
The 2026 Primera maize and bean season ended under poor conditions in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua due to prolonged dry spells and high temperatures. GEOGLAM reports that many subsistence farmers experienced losses above 75%, while some crops died at early stages because of erratic rainfall.
840,372 km² were experiencing medium agricultural drought impact in the GDACS Central America-2026 episode as of September 29, 2026.
10 countries were identified by GDACS as affected by the Central America-2026 drought episode: The Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
3 countries showed a high level of agricultural drought impact in the territorial units reported by GDACS: El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
El Salvador's fourth meteorological drought period of 2026 extended from September 5 to September 20 and ended after rainfall recorded on September 20 and 21. The episode reached moderate drought conditions at monitoring stations in La Unión department.
19 people, mostly women farmers, operate the Community Hydroclimatic Monitoring Network in southern Ahuachapán, El Salvador; during Tropical Storm Julia, an alert issued after more than six hours of rain enabled vulnerable families to evacuate two hours before the rivers overflowed, with no loss of life.
