Virginia Escobar is a small-scale farmer living in the “Dry Corridor” in El Salvador. She cultivates basic grains as well as fruit trees on her farmland. In the past, Virginia used to be able to sow twice in the rainy season. The first harvest was sold to pay back loans while the second was for the family’s subsistence. But due to irregular droughts in recent years, she was able to plant only once. The cost of agricultural inputs was also on the rise.

Virginia participated in a crop insurance program launched by CLWR and partners, aimed at strengthening the climate resilience of small-scale producers of basic grains.

The insurance has smaller requirements and coverage than traditional insurance and is automatically activated when drought, excess rainfall or seismic movements are recorded in a given territory using real-time satellite data and have affected the farmers’ crops. The project also provided training and education on climate change resilience to the farmers.

The climate project allowed Virginia and many farmers like her to continue farming through challenging times and be better prepared and resilient to future challenges.

Thank you for supporting small-scale farming families in El Salvador!

Photo caption: Virginia standing next to her crops in San Josecito, El Salvador (Photo: LWF Central America)