IPS-English PARAGUAY: Hunger Follows Worst Fires in History
 
Date: Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:12:15 -0700

 
David Vargas

ASUNCION, Oct 3   (IPS)  - Food shortages and hunger in the northern
Paraguayan provinces of Concepción and San Pedro have followed the
worst fires in this country's history, which destroyed over one million
hectares of crops and forestland and left nearly 50,000 people homeless
and eight dead.

The fires, which broke out nearly two months ago, peaked in mid-September.
But the state of emergency declared by the government is still in
effect, and several of the more than 5,000 separate fires reported
flared up again this week.

Small farmers and indigenous people have been hit the hardest, and
are now suffering from shortages of food and seeds with which to replant
their crops, problems they could continue to face for at least six
months, according to experts.

The aid sent by the governmental National Emergency Secretariat (SEN)
is insufficient and has prompted protests from small farmers' associations
that are demanding more help and blame the government for its tardy
reaction to what they describe as a humanitarian crisis.

”When the crops go up in flames, our food is destroyed. We have been
left without food, and people are going hungry,” Luis Aguayo, secretary
of the National Coordinating Board of Campesino Organisations (MCNOC),
told IPS.

Last week, MCNOC staged roadblocks to demand aid in the districts
of Horqueta and San Estanislao, 400 and 350 km from the capital, respectively.

The campesinos (small farmers) also criticise the lack of organisation
in the distribution of basic food items, which are only gradually
trickling in.

”Our country excels at doing things without planning,” said Aguayo.
”This must be undertaken in a responsible manner, through local institutions
and governments, and in coordination with the local community, which
is not happening.”

Several local and international organisations are collecting donations
of food, clothing and medicine for people who lost their crops, livestock
and homes.

The Catholic Church and various civil society organisations launched
the ”United Against Hunger” campaign last week to gather donations
for communities hit hard by the fires.

The office of the Red Cross in Paraguay also announced deliveries
of food, medicine and drinking water, while the Spanish organisation
Intermón Oxfam appealed to the international community to provide
urgent humanitarian aid to ward off a serious food crisis.

But the assistance appears to be insufficient in the face of a catastrophe
whose repercussions will be felt for months.

”The outlook is bleak. What must be guaranteed are food deliveries
for at least three or four months, because the effects of the disaster
and the hunger will increasingly be felt, and the needs will only
grow as times goes by,” the Catholic Bishop of San Pedro, Adalberto
Martínez, told IPS.

Governor Jorge Céspedes of San Pedro, one of the poorest provinces
in Paraguay, said 80 percent of the territory has been burnt, and
described the situation there as ”critical.”

The food rations distributed by the government consist of 50 kg of
rice, beans, pasta, flour, oil and yerba mate (an herb used in a traditional
local infusion) -- ”a hefty kit of basic food items for the family,”
in the words of SEN's head of operations, Aldo Zaldívar.

”Depending on the number of family members, we estimate that the
kits will last around 22 days,” he told IPS. ”It is easier for rural
families to have access to meat and milk, which is our biggest challenge
in urban areas.”

The fires have also caused health problems, but ”the Health Ministry
has provided little assistance,” complained Bishop Martínez. 

”Many of the health posts are short of supplies, and there have been
cases of smoke inhalation and respiratory problems among children
and the elderly. Medical care must be increased, because San Pedro
is a large province, with many remote communities that were affected
by the fires.”

Another problem is the lack of financing. Although foreign governments
have donated funds, they have not yet been put to use due to red tape.

Awaiting congressional approval are 1.5 million euros (2.1 million
dollars) from the European Union, one million dollars from Venezuela,
100,000 dollars from the Andean Development Corporation (the financial
arm of the Andean Community trade bloc), and 100,000 dollars each
from South Korea and China.

”Even if we had the means of transport, the aid would not reach the
people quickly, because the suppliers do not have the capacity to
meet such heavy demand,” the head of SEN, retired general José Key
Kanazawa, told IPS. ”As the suppliers, who we are pressuring heavily,
respond, the aid is reaching the people.”

”But the suppliers are desperate because there just isn't enough
food to cover the needs. We understand perfectly that everyone needs
food and that we have to help them, and we are doing so continually,”
he added.

The severe drought plaguing northern Paraguay, which has had no significant
rainfall in five months, along with intense heat and strong winds,
created a tinderbox in a region where slash-and-burn agriculture is
commonly practiced.

Eight people were killed and the government estimates that the fires
caused 30 million dollars in losses as a result of the destruction
of crops, housing and livestock 

The chief of the volunteer fire fighters, Carlos Torres, told IPS
that the fires were the worst national catastrophe in Paraguayan history.

Cattle farmers insist on using slash-and-burn agriculture to clear
their pastures and make way for new growth, an ”outmoded” technique
that not only causes a loss of nutrients but can also lead to a catastrophe
when accompanied by drought and strong winds from the north, like
on this occasion, said Torres.

The fires, which destroyed native vegetation, were also a disaster
for biological diversity in the affected provinces.

The Secretariat of the Environment said it is difficult to calculate
the loss of natural resources, but added that the forest cover will
take 30 years to grow back.


*****
+ PARAGUAY: Praying for Rain to Douse the Flames (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39274)


(END/IPS/LA EN DV PR MD CS CO/TRASP-SW/DV/DCL/07)


 
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