Honduran
Farmers Make Sweet Profits
![Small farmers inspect their sweet potato harvest before sending it to the urban processing.](newphotos/Dia_Campo_Camote_Cantarranas_200w.JPG)
Challenge
Small
farmers in Honduras have traditionally planted corn,
beans, and coffee, mostly for subsistence. Any surplus
was sold locally and earned small profits.
With the ratification of international trade
agreements, such as CAFTA, Honduran small farmers need to become more
competitive to remain viable and profitable in the global
marketplace. For example, while sweet potatoes were traditionally
grown in small volumes for the local market, farmers
did not have international networks or the expertise
to produce a high-quality crop.
Initiative
Since
2000, USAID has supported Honduran small farmers by
providing assistance in marketing, post harvest handling,
production, processing and technology. With sweet potatoes,
USAID saw an opportunity for small growers to take advantage
of the potential for export to Europe. USAID identified
buyers in the Netherlands and Canada and began working
with a group of small farmers, including Enrique López,
from San Antonio in northern Honduras. Enrique used
to grow coffee, but his land was not well suited for
it and he sold it at low prices. USAID helped Enrique
diversify production and access new markets. After learning
new technologies like drip irrigation and crop scheduling,
Enrique planted 3.2 acres of sweet potato and obtained
his first harvest in July 2004.
Results
During
his first year of planting sweet potato, Enrique's profits
increased by more than 60 percent. His produce was of
such high quality that USAID helped him sign a contract
with an exporter to plant 2.4 acres every two months.
By September 2004, 45 small growers had joined the sweet
potato program and 520,000 pounds had been shipped to
Europe. Each grower makes an average of $1,350 per hectare
in profits, and the program has generated 150 new jobs.
The program is set to expand in 2005 to provide opportunities
to even more Honduran farmers.
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