The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) in Nicaragua has taken immediate steps to supply food to more than 28,000 people who have lost their crops or jobs due to the devastating drought of this summer.

In the northern part of the country, 98 percent of the population relies upon agriculture for its livelihood. By August, nearly 75 percent of the crops had been lost.

In cooperation with other major private voluntary organizations and the United States Agency for International Development, ADRA developed emergency Food-for-Work plans to deliver food as quickly as possible to the hungry communities.

“The situation in the north is very sad,” says Plinio Vergara, ADRA country director. “We are working hard to cover the food needs of the affected households to get them through to the next harvest in November.”