Haiti’s government announced Saturday that it is implementing a three-month state of emergency in the country’s central region as gang violence surges, Associated Press reported.

The measure will cover Haiti’s West, Artibonite and Center departments “to continue the fight against insecurity and respond to the agricultural and food crisis,” according to a government statement.

The region — known as Haiti’s rice basket — has been under attack in recent years, with gangs killing farmers or forcing them to abandon their fields as they raze nearby communities, according to Associated Press.