Falta de preparación impide respuesta efectiva del sector público

This case study describes a project supported by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and led by Bioversity International to improve the response of Guatemala's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) to droughts. Through two emergency simulations conducted in 2014 and 2015 in the Chiquimula department, the project evaluated the effectiveness of the Institutional Response Plan (PIR) and identified critical gaps in communication and data collection within the public sector.

• The project utilized two drought emergency simulations in 2014 and 2015 to test the Institutional Response Plan (PIR), which was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) in 2012 to mitigate impacts on human life, crops, and agricultural infrastructure.
• The simulations focused on the first two stages of the PIR's five-stage process: field monitoring and the declaration of alert.
• The evaluation of the simulations identified several systemic weaknesses in the public sector response, including poor communication infrastructure (roads and cell signals), high employee turnover at the ministry, a lack of standardized surveys leading to subjective data, and communication failures between MAGA departments described as 'broken telephone'.
• The study concluded that simulations are valuable tools for evaluating and informing drought responses, and recommended implementing a training program on the PIR for public officials and farmers, unifying field evaluation instruments, and improving communication infrastructure.
• The research focused on the Chiquimula department of Guatemala, a region characterized by rural poverty, vulnerability to food insecurity, and annual precipitation between 600 and 1000 millimeters; this area experienced four extreme and unusual drought events known as 'Canícula' between 2009 and 2015.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (n.d.). Falta de preparación impide respuesta efectiva del sector público. https://iai.int/pdf/es/CRN-3107-sp.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Falta de preparación impide respuesta efectiva del sector público. n.d. https://iai.int/pdf/es/CRN-3107-sp.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Falta de preparación impide respuesta efectiva del sector público |url=https://iai.int/pdf/es/CRN-3107-sp.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearchndfalta, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Falta de preparación impide respuesta efectiva del sector público}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/pdf/es/CRN-3107-sp.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }