Micro Irrigation Brings Life Changing Alternatives to Hondurans
In the Olancho region of Honduras, iDE’s newest Latin American country program has entered into a public/private partnership with German cooperation agencies GTZ and DED introducing affordable drip irrigation to 300 small farmers whose lack of irrigation keeps them from growing more than a single crop during the year. For these farmers, access to drip irrigation represents not just a way to grow healthier, more productive crops but also a way to diversify, escaping the poverty perpetuating monoculture so prevalent throughout the country.
Historically, bananas have been Honduras’ primary cash crop, but 90 per cent of the banana infrastructure was destroyed in 1998 by Hurricane Mitch, and the major multinational fruit corporations moved their operations to other neighboring countries. Coffee is now the country’s largest cash crop, but it only generates income for farmers during the harvest season, November through March. Lacking affordable irrigation, during the remainder of the year, some farmers depend on rain to grow sustenance crops, while others are forced to borrow money or food staples from ‘coyotes’—loan sharks who demand an exorbitant portion of the next coffee harvest for repayment.
iDE Honduras identified the opportunity for the coffee sector to introduce income strategy diversification by growing other crops within the coffee farms such as corn and beans for food security; and cocoa, bananas, plantains, fruit trees and vegetables for commercial purposes. Some farmers have even been able to introduce livestock thanks to affordable micro sprinkler systems which irrigate pastures throughout the year. We have also identified similar opportunities within the cocoa and African palm sectors.
We are currently working on demonstration plots with students preparing thesis projects at two important universities: Panamerican Agricultural School (Zamorano) and the National University of Agriculture (Catacamas). We are also creating several Centros Productivos para la Innovacion Rural Sostenible (Productive Center for Sustainable Rural Innovations), which provide farmer training in different subjects related to sustainable agriculture. These centers will also create a supply chain for producer cooperatives to sell affordable drip irrigation systems to other farmers. Students from Honduras' National Agricultural University are participating as extension workers to promote activities among farmers, as well as conducting research to quantify the social and economic impact of these technologies.
Moving forward, there are a number of promising new projects in the works. Together with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, COOP (Switzerland) and Spanish Fundacion CODESPA, iDE Honduras is developing a microfinance product through Empresas de Credito Comunal—village producer organizations who provide credit to their members in rural communities where microfinance institutions are not present. This credit can be used to finance technical assistance and low-cost drip irrigation technologies. In some areas, there are also private producer enterprises known as Cajas Rurales or "Rural Banks". These well organized private farmer enterprises are key when farmers want to purchase or sell in bulk, because they are better positioned to negotiate with buyers, and can also provide goods and services.
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