Agreement launched to boost local competitiveness and reduce poverty in western Honduras

Moment during the signing of the agreement.

 

The ETEA-Instituto de Desarrollo Foundation and the CESAL association have signed an agreement called “Promoting local competitiveness for the reduction of poverty among vulnerable populations through sustainable and inclusive value chains in western Honduras”, which will enable the two entities to jointly contribute to the development and improvement of the situation of certain communities in the Honduran region. The grouping of these two entities is supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the main funder of the proposed intervention.

This project seeks to increase territorial competitiveness by working under the value chain scheme and social inclusion actions. In addition, they will seek to improve the income of these communities, productivity, resilience to climate change and transformation processes with greater market value.

Situation of the areas in which they operate

The initiative has focused on 15 municipalities belonging to 4 commonwealths, all of them adjacent to each other, which form a natural corridor in the western part of Honduras. This region has high levels of poverty and food insecurity, both of which are the result of climatic phenomena and the postponement of basic services and development opportunities. As a result, the rural population in the area reflects conditions of vulnerability such as economic inequality, inequality of opportunities and gender inequality.

Agreement Priorities

The project prioritizes guaranteeing the effective participation of women and supporting rural organizations through actions with producers’ associations, savings banks, cooperatives, farmers’ associations, etc.  Women and small producers will be included in market value chains, and agricultural systems will be adapted to climate change in order to address the environmental vulnerability of this region.

The agreement also seeks to promote rural tourism as a complementary economic activity or one associated with a farm, linking it to the regional and national market, and to strengthen local economic development agendas through strategic alliances between the public and private sectors.