HONDURAS (30 May)
Planting of the 2003/04 first season cereal and bean crops started with the arrival of the first seasonal rains around mid-May. The rains have been particularly heavy in the capital and its surroundings, with consequent damage to housing and urban infrastructure. Emergency relief has been provided to the affected population and measures adopted to cope with further probable heavy rains and likely flooding which are forecast for the weeks ahead. Plantings of maize, the main cereal, should be about the average of the past five years. Despite the government’s financial support to small coffee producers, large numbers of coffee plantation workers are unemployed as a result of the international price crisis which for three consecutive years is affecting the sector. Food assistance from the international community continues to be distributed to the most affected households.