Sat, Aug 16, 2014 page7

• Eat iguanas, Nicaraguans told, as drought devastates

  • The Guardian
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  Nicaraguans struggling to afford meat as the country suffers its worst drought in 32 years should consider raising and eating iguanas, a government expert has said.

  The advice comes amid warnings that Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador could require levels of humanitarian aid not seen since the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch 16 years ago, as poor harvests and rapid increases in the prices of staple items threaten a food crisis.

  “Breeding iguanas brings two benefits,” land management expert Guillermo Membreno said. “Not only does it supply dietary protein, it also offers a commercial use for the animals.”

  

  A cow carcass lies in a field near San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua, about 70km from Managua, on July 30. About 2,500 cattle have died so far in Nicaragua due to a brutal drought, authorities said.

  Photo: AFP

  Iguanas contain 24 percent protein compared with 18 percent in chicken, Membreno added.

  Although Nicaragua’s environmental laws forbid the hunting of iguanas between Jan. 1 and April 30 each year, the lizards can be kept for food and even exported under certain circumstances.

  “Farming iguanas — and not hunting them in forests — is a good way to deal with the food shortages caused by the prolonged drought,” Membreno told the government-run online newspaper La Voz del Sandinismo.

  “Even if you have only got 10 iguanas, you have got something that offers food — and cash if you sell the iguanas for their meat, their skins or as pets,” he said.

  He also suggested that people grow moringa trees, which require little water and the leaves of which can be used as animal feed.

  A survey conducted by another Nicaraguan newspaper found that the cost of 15 of the 19 basic items in the average shopping basket — including such staples as beans, corn, tomatoes and peppers — had risen over the past week.

  However, the government’s suggestions met with a mix of scorn and ridicule from some Nicaraguans.

  “I was going to have an iguana for breakfast, but it ran away. I was going to have beans, but they are up to 37 [Nicaraguan cordobas, US$1.42] a pound today,” tweeted one.

  Another, mocking the Sandinista government’s motto — “Christian, socialist, caring” — posted a picture of an iguana with the caption: “Anyone fancy a caring mini-Godzilla?”

  Despite the humor, the situation in Central America’s poorest country is growing increasingly serious. According to the national livestock commission, Conagan, the drought saw 2,500 cattle starve to death last month, while a further 600,000 of Nicaragua’s 4.1 million livestock are on the verge of starvation.

  The drought’s effect on crops and food prices led Nicaragua’s central bank to cut its economic growth outlook and raise its inflation forecast on Monday. The bank said it expected GDP growth to be between 4 and 4.5 percent this year, down from the 4.5 to 5 percent it forecast in the spring.

  A day later, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network released an alert highlighting the risk of widespread food shortages in the region next year.

  With the drought and El Nino affecting both the livestock and fishing industries, the network said that “atypically high” levels of human assistance would probably be needed.

  “The number of people in need of assistance could be the largest since hurricane Mitch in 1998,” it said.
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