August 9, 2019, Honduras: With an investment of more than 1.2 million euros contributed by the European Union through the EUROCLIMA+ Programme,
The Dutch Service for Development Cooperation (SNV) and the Association for Integrated Watershed Management of La Paz and Comayagua (ASOMAINCUPACO) officially launched the “Climate-Smart Family Agriculture project” with an Integrated Watershed Management for Resilient Food Production approach in Central America (CSFA-RFP)”.
The project, which will take two years to implement, has as its objective resilient food production (RFP) based on a sustainable water management approach by local organisations and 600 farming families, in the context of their ancestral practices, through the validation and adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) production systems, facilitating processes and platforms for disseminating experiences and upscaling actions in the Central American region.
This will contribute to improving capacities for increasing climate resilience, efficiency in agricultural and cattle production systems in relation to forests and water, as well as the interconnected food and agricultural value chains in line with sectoral commitments. related to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
Solomon Solís, Country Representative of the European Union Delegation in Honduras, said that “addressing the effects of climate change is a priority for the EU and its interest in supporting Central America's climate action has caused us to make this investment, expecting results that show the greatest benefits for Hondurans and later for Central American countries. ”
For his part, Marlos Escoto, Presidential Delegate for Honduran Climate Change, said that the EU investment, equivalent to 37 million Lempiras in local currency would “provide climate finance for small and medium-sized producers in the dry corridor area.”
The event was also attended by the Guatemalan Vice-Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Carlos Ramos, who recognised the climate actions that Honduras has made, noting that “the stimulus from the European Union is fundamental”.
SNV is the lead executive entity for the project and ASOMAINCUPACO is the co-executor. The Central Region University Centre (CURC-UNAH) is a strategic partner and the Presidential Climate Change Office of Honduras (Clima+) and the Guatemalan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) are counterparts.
Actions and expected impacts
The 2018 Global Climate Risk Index ranked Honduras as the most affected country between 1997-2016, and this, added to the use of obsolete technology, poor agricultural production practices, limited access to financing and technical assistance, severely increased the vulnerability of the population to Climate Change (CC). The effects of CC affect women and indigenous people in the dry corridor with greater intensity, due to their strong dependence on dry farming agriculture.
The project will strengthen local and national capacities for the adoption of climate-smart agricultural production systems in value chains for Honey, Coffee, Cattle and Basic Grains, and it will improve Food and Nutrition Security.
It will also design and promote inclusive rural green financing for the RFP approach and/or ecosystem conservation, inclusive businesses, and/or commercialisation plans, directed at small producers in the chains assisted, to facilitate inter-institutional coordination and the mobilisation of financial resources.
Regarding water governance of the sub-basins, it will support the formation of watershed agencies, with formulating, obtaining approval, and implementing Integrated Watershed Management Plans and the institutionalisation of water governance mechanisms, to contribute to efficiency in water and carbon use in agricultural systems and agri-food value chains and to create a favourable environment for resilient food production with the support of stakeholders.
With a focus on South-South cooperation, the knowledge generated by the Project will be shared with key actors in the Central American region, thereby contributing to scaling-up resilient food production with an integrated management approach for water, forest and soil resources.
Contribution of the Project to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)
CSFA-RFP will contribute to Honduras’ NDC on mitigation and adaptation. The project will promote the conservation and/or restoration of at least 500 hectares of forests in water recharge areas, the use of improved stoves that will reduce firewood consumption by up to 50%, and the establishment of agroforestry systems associated with coffee cultivation.
It will also promote the establishment of silvopastoral and agroforestry systems considering the rescue of ancestral practices in these sectors; it will carry out a capacity building process in CSA – RFP, and in conjunction with academia, it will promote research for the determination of agroclimatic variables using a participatory action-research approach, and it will promote a water governance model to create conditions favourable to the appropriation of CSA - RFP promoted by the project.
Participating in the official project launch were: European Union Country Representative Mr. Salomón Solís; Mr. Marlon Escoto, Presidential Delegate on Climate Change/ ClimaPlus Honduras; Mr. Carlos Ramos Salguero, Vice-Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change of Guatemala; Ms. Rosibel Martínez, Director of External Cooperation of the Secretariat of Natural Resources/MiAmbiente of Honduras; Mr. Emmanuel Béjar, Director of SNV Central America; Mr. Julio César Trujillo, Director of CURC - UNAH; Mrs. Flora Hernández, President of ASOMAINCUPACO; Mr. Filiberto Melgar, Mayor of Cabañas; as well as authorities and indigenous organisations from the area of influence.
About the projects of the Resilient Food Production component of EUROCLIMA+
Resilient Food Production (RFP) projects aim to strengthen capacities at local, national and regional levels to increase resilience to climate change, the efficiency of agricultural and livestock production systems with respect to carbon and water, as well as food value chains according to their sectoral commitments under the framework of NDC implementation. RFP is a component implemented by GIZ and Expertise France.
See descriptions of the projects at https://www.euroclima.org/en/projects-foods
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA + is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The programme is implemented based on the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and UN Environment.
This programme receives co-financing from the federal government of Germany through the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as the governments of France and Spain.
Press contacts
For information about the “Climate-Smart Family Agriculture project with an Integrated Watershed Management approach for Resilient Food Production in Central America (CSFA-RFP)”, contact Judit Vanegas, Communication CSFA-RFP, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (+505) 8510-1926.
For information about EUROCLIMA+, contact Alexandra Cortés:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For information about the Resilient Food Production component of EUROCLIMA+, contact Gandhi Montoya: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
