Climate Extremes, Food Insecurity, and Migration in Central America: A Complicated Nexus

This article, part of an MPI series on climate change and migration, assesses the impact of climate change on the livelihood of small farmers in Guatemala, and the relationship between the effects of climate change and a decision to migrate. The author discusses the provision of climate services to farmers as a way to help them adapt to changing conditions and avoid migration. The author notes that, over the past 30 years, droughts in a “dry corridor” extending from Panama to southern Mexico, have led to increased migration from that area. A survey of families in this corridor in 2019 found that 8 percent of them planned to migrate. An estimated several hundred thousand people have already done so since 2014. While there are many factors pushing people from this region to migrate, the author suggests that the provision of climate services — information that farmers could use to respond to climate impacts — could help mitigate some of the need to migrate. Such services would have to be paired with financial assistance. Otherwise, small-scale farmers might not have the resources to implement adaptive strategies. (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Associates)

Download now or view online.