The department of Valle, located in southern Honduras, has a strategic position as a border corridor within the Gulf of Fonseca region. It has a population of approximately 195,747 inhabitants and an economy driven mainly by family remittances and agricultural production, with crops such as maize, beans, sesame, as well as export products such as melon and watermelon, in addition to dairy products and shrimp.

In recent years, the Honduran government has prioritised the development of this region due to its location between Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, promoting investments and initiatives that seek to boost the local economy. These include the construction of the dry canal, which will connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and facilitate trade, generating new opportunities for producers and businesses in the territory.

In this context, this project: Innovation in agri-food production systems for water governance in the department of Valle, seeks to take advantage of this momentum to strengthen production chains from an innovative and sustainable approach. ADED Valle has been working along these lines, promoting the articulation between public and private actors, as well as the development of productive initiatives that contribute to the economic growth and sustainability of the territory.

Implementing consortium:

The beneficiaries of the project are MSMEs, individual producers and rural families organised in agricultural associations and micro-watershed councils, mainly linked to the dairy and sesame chains. These territories face high levels of poverty, youth migration and climate vulnerability, as well as constraints such as lack of sustainable employment, restricted access to finance, high input costs, low production technology and low organisational capacity. These conditions directly affect production and put the income and food security of families at risk, especially in the dry corridor of the department of Valle.

The project directly benefits 50 MSMEs, 2 producer associations (70 families) and 130 individual producers in five municipalities in the department of Valle. Through this intervention, their productive and organisational capacities will be strengthened, promoting sustainable practices, the efficient use of water and improving the quality of production, both in dairy and sesame. It will also promote spaces for articulation between actors, technical training and the development of production models that are more resilient to climate change.

In addition, the project seeks to generate economic opportunities that contribute to reducing migration, especially among young people and women, by strengthening productive chains, improving access to markets and promoting local employment and self-employment. Indirectly, it will benefit approximately 8,500 people in rural communities in the territory, contributing to economic development and food security in the region.

Jesy Nohemy Barralaga Euceda

General Manager - ADED Valle Foundation

gerencia@fundacionadedvalle.org