LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: In Central America, food assistance is still required in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua for families affected by natural disasters of the past 5 years and recurrent economic shocks. The assistance should target affected women and children. In South America, the outlook is poor in Ecuador for the 2003 maize crop as a result of adverse weather. In Venezuela, prospects are poor for the coarse grain and paddy crops, mainly as a consequence of the reduced use of farm inputs due to the low purchasing power of farmers. In Haiti, food assistance will also be distributed to drought-affected farmers.