Project name
Regional Agricultural Development Project in Central America

Location
Republic of Honduras

Responsible organization
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Cofinanced by Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE), Private banks, Municipalities

Description

Rural poverty in Honduras is among the most severe in Latin America. Approximately 53% of the population is rural, and it is estimated that 75% of the rural population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet basic needs. The country still has high rates of population growth, infant mortality, child malnutrition and illiteracy. These and other social and economic factors reflect its status as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti.

In 1998, as part of a master reconstruction plan for Honduras, developed in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, IFAD designed a project known as Proderco: Proyecto de Desarrollo Rural en la Región Centro-oriente. The project is situated in the central eastern region of Honduras, which ranks second in chronic poverty after the western region. The peasants in the project area suffer from poor agricultural conditions, low productivity and a high level of post-harvest losses, combined with a lack of access to capital and appropriate technology. Proderco is working to strengthen and consolidate grass-roots organizations and encourage municipal and local organizations to provide farmer-to-farmer technical assistance. The participants are being empowered to identify their needs and actively participate in all aspects of the project.

Proderco reaches nearly 9 000 smallholders, landless families and micro-entrepreneurs living in approximately 252 rural communities in the central eastern region (ten municipalities in the department of El Paraíso and one in that of Olancho). Their income is derived primarily from agricultural activities and labour. Because women tend to have fewer employment opportunities than men and at lower wages, approximately 25% of the families who benefit from the project are headed by women. In the village of La Mesa (located in the municipality of Oropolí), the project is helping women make natural medicine because medicine is not available generally and, when available, it is expensive. By working together, they have developed natural remedies for diarrhea and coughs. However, this activity is considered more self help than business, because they do this for their own communities and families.

The project provides training to strengthen local organizations by fostering self-help activities and civic involvement, as well as marketing and financial assistance. Rural credit windows (cajas rurales), a type of community revolving credit fund, have been established, along with some women’s village banks sponsored by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Through the savings of people in communities, members can take out small loans for emergencies and sickness or to pay for children’s schooling and expenses. A special credit line, primarily seed money, reaches approximately 700 women and 100 youths. A fund has also been established exclusively for children and into which children deposit the money. When they finish primary school, they can use some of the money to buy books for secondary school.

In the village of El Barro there is (a professional journalist - part of the project staff), that lives in the community and liaises with farmers and rural reporters. Members of the community proposed a radio project to the journalist, in which rural reporters would interact with farmers at the field level to gather educational information for a radio report. The village now has airtime on regional radio and once a week on national radio.

Honduras’s Ministry of Education sponsors an educational radio programme called ''Teachers at Home.'' Proderco arranges for repeat broadcasting of some of the programmes on regional radio. In communities where radio reception is not available, tapes are sent to community centers. The reporting provides information on grains and prices and informs the public about problems in farming by reporting on such issues as lack of rainfall, loss of harvest, etc. Through the programme it is also possible to notify the army and fire fighters of action that needs to be taken as a result of an emergency. The programme has become very popular.

Results achieved

Honduras is primarily an agricultural economy, with more than 70% of its export earnings coming from agriculture. The rural poor in the central eastern region are learning to manage their resources and independently organize themselves to seek solutions to their problems. At the community level the poor have formulated proposals for microcredit projects and are managing them successfully. Innovative producers are sharing training and technology with other farmers at the grass-roots level. Women are increasingly seeking employment outside the home to generate income, and many are involved in some form of agricultural activity. Proderco is not only helping to alleviate the short-term effects of Hurricane Mitch but is addressing long-term issues by providing irrigation assistance, offering agricultural training and better access to credit to buy land, and improving environmental conditions, schools and roads. The road from Oropolí to La Mesa was created by Proderco, and construction of a community hall is currently underway.

Lessons learned

• Development of the rural sector requires greater participation by women to ensure true gender equity in decision-making and possession of goods and services.

• Orientation towards sustainable development should be provided by field technicians with a thorough understanding of the socio-economic realities, thereby permitting a clear vision of the communities’ futures.

In the Words of our Clients

Emilio Rodríguez has three children, ranging in age from 13 to 21. Proderco has taught Emilio’s 15-year-old son carpentry skills. He and his wife, Elsa Madariaga, share the daily work. Every morning, while Emilio is working in the fields, Elsa looks after the animals. She also helps with agricultural work. They are fortunate to have water supply for their fields. Elsa went to school through the 6^th grade, and says her 13-year old daughter will not continue her education beyond the primary level. Emilio says proudly that he also participates in housework. ''Just as she helps me, I help her… This is all a result of this gender question, which I do not understand very well, but it has helped me to understand the hard job that my wife does. Before, when only she was doing all the housework, I thought she did not work. When somebody asked me, I answered that she did not work. Now I realize how much she works, she does the housework, takes care of the children, of myself, and on top of it, she also has a productive role, and this helps the whole family to be better off.''

With a loan from Proderco, the family was able to buy five pigs – four females and one male. In four months, the number of piglets increased to eight. Every time a piglet is sold, the family earns USD 40. They make a good profit because a six-month-old pig can have piglets, and three productions are possible per year.

Gloria Albarenga, 42, a journalist, says that Proderco encouraged the people in her community to participate in the ''Teachers at Home'' programme. These are programmes fostered by the Government, and are followed by both parents and children at home. The lessons are as good as those taught at school. Teachers meet with students once a week to help them solve their problems and at the end of the year students have to sit for exams just like students attending regular schools. These programmes are highly appreciated by small farmers that cannot send their children to school because they have to work.

According to Jaime Valenzuela, a rural reporter participating in the programme, ''one of the biggest problems is the lack of information and communication for farmers organizations.'' Rural reporters are filling this gap, and Jaime is doing so by broadcasting his programme on the regional and national level:

''Attention rural friend, listen to our radio programme: the voice of the small farmer with Proderco towards development, produced by members of your community and for your community, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m., ‘Radio Crisma,’ frequency 93.9 f.m. Interviews, news about the community, agricultural and livestock issues, music, with its network of rural correspondents.''

''This is the programme that broadcasts news on rural life, on agriculture and livestock,'' says Jaime. ''All small farmers listen to it,'' he adds with pride, ''because we are the only ones who produce information for small farmers and treat the issues that interest them. This is why they make an effort and stop working for a while to listen to our programme, because it talks about themes that affect their lives directly. In some families, if not all members can listen to the programme at the same time, they take turns and afterwards share the information which they deem most important. They feel happy when some of them are interviewed or when they listen to a relative or friend being interviewed. This later becomes one of the most interesting topics of conversation.’’

Juan Melvin, an ''innovative farmer,'' receives training from Proderco and is given an incentive of USD 50 per month to share his training with 19 other farmers in his community. He visits them 12 days a month to help with any farming issues. Sometimes they must wait for agricultural technicians if they are not able to solve the problem themselves. Juan started working as an innovative producer last year on his own land, and says he is working towards becoming the best farmer. With the help of an extension worker, he set up a store, and is asking Proderco for a loan to expand his business.

Bartolo, a coffee worker, receives training for environmental leadership from Proderco and provides technical assistance to other farmers. He also assists with social aspects such as health, nutrition and home improvement. He and a group of young people are working to conserve the environment. They have set up nurseries and selected specific areas for the planting of trees. Since prices for coffee are low and it’s the country’s main crop, he is training farmers in diversification. They have begun planting vegetables, and Bartolo himself grows corn and beans in his family garden.

Twenty-four-year-old Wilmer González is a plantain farmer who lives in the municipality of Alauca, department of El Paraíso. He is just one of many farmers who lost land due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. Proderco is helping with rehabilitation by providing irrigation assistance, inputs and plantain. Wilmer has a yucca plantation and last year received a loan provided by the project. ''Hurricane Mitch was terrible. It left me without anything, I lost everything I had but now I am overcoming it, thanks to the help of Proderco. We have worked extremely hard during this period to get over the tragedy and now we are starting to succeed.''

''The help of Proderco has been fundamental,'' he added, ''because Hurricane Mitch had destroyed the irrigation system and we could not work in the fields. The system is now back to normal and we have even been able to diversify production. The work is very hard, we get up very early, we work all day, until the end of daylight. But our life has always been very hard, and probably will continue to be like this, a bit better now with this project that is teaching us things that help us produce more and better. Learning is always positive and welcome.''

The interviews were conducted in January 2001.

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