Millions face starvation at climate change tightens its grip on Haiti

Mirene Raymond has farmed rice in Haiti
 for decades, but she says she has
never seen conditions quite so bad, April 2016.

GONAIVES, HAITI — Mirene Raymond hasn’t seen a real downpour since last year. The 69-year-old rice farmer is one of millions at risk of malnutrition and starvation due to the combined effects of climate change and El Niño.

“This is the first time in my life that I’ve seen things this bad,” she told ThinkProgress through a translator. “We’ve had droughts before, but never like this.”

The El Niño weather pattern has caused drier than usual conditions in Haiti that have led officials to declare a national emergency. Climate scientists have warned for years of a stronger impact of El Niño due to rising ocean temperatures. Upward temperature trends have also exacerbated droughts and devastated agricultural production around the world.

Crop losses for this year have already been reported in Haiti. As a drought in the Caribbean stretches into its third year running, Raymond has tapped into all of her reserves. She used to be able to sell much of her harvest, and even buy rice from other farmers, to sell at a higher price at a local market.

Read the ThinkProgress story - “Millions Face Starvation As Haiti’s Drought Stretches Into Its Third Year.”