Julio Gonsalez Vasquez is one of many vulnerable small farmers in El Salvador, whose corn fields are located in Zacatecoluca, an area known to be part of the Dry Corridor in Central America prone to irregular drought.

“I am a small farmer, I don’t own a lot,” Julio says. He has farmed in Zacatecoluca for a long time. He and his family work hard but the threat of drought or flood is never far. If either were to happen, they could lose everything they have planted. With no crop to sell, they would fall into debt and have to sell farming tools and equipment to survive, which would mean their next yield would become even harder to produce. Like many others, Julio was ready to give up on farming, which would have had a devastating impact on the country’s already low food supply.

In order to support farmers like Julio, CLWR has launched an innovative new form of crop insurance which offers compensation to farmers based on real-time satellite data. Claims are automatically triggered based on soil and weather data, which removes virtually all the work on the part of the farmer when making a claim. We are also providing training to the farmers who use the insurance and education on climate change resilience.

The project has provided a real life-line for Julio and many farmers like him, allowing them to continue farming through these challenging times and be better-prepared and resilient to the challenges they might face in the future.

If you want to find out more about how you can help vulnerable farmers like Julio, please visit clwr.org/elsalvador