Honduras: WFP and CABEI work on the “Resilience Agenda”

Some 8.6 million people, mostly poor subsistence farmers, live in the so-called Drought Corridor, an area shared by Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. This area is affected by prolonged droughts that cause harvesting losses and hunger.

World Food Program

TEGUCIGALPA - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) inaugurated on 2 October the workshop “The Process of Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security: The Resilience Agenda for Central America.”

Emergency management and Climate Change experts gathered at the CABEI’s regional headquarters with government officials from four Central American countries and representatives of the Central American Integration System (SICA) to discuss ways of consolidating an alliance in order to facilitate the creation of an Action Plan and user their expertise with the aim of mitigating the impact of Climate Change, reduce the risks of disaster and build the resilience of the communities in the Drought Corridor to improve their living conditions.

The Drought Corridor is a dry area shared by four Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua),where more than 8 million people live on subsistence farming. The prolonged droughts in this corridor cause permanent losses in harvests, livestocks and jobs, causing food insecurity and the migration of workers.   

As a development bank in the region, CABEI promotes the improvement of the quality of life of Central Americans. CABEI has led the following projects: Products in the Value Chain and Access to Markets (PROCAVAL); the Development Programme of Agricultural, Fishing and Forestry Productive Systems in the North Atlantic and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua, and the Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Productivity Programme of Nicaragua (PFPAS), supporting more than 33,603 families of producers and promoting more than 15,022 new jobs. 

In El Salvador, CABEI promoted the Family Agriculture Plan and Rural Entrepreneurship for Nutritional and Food Security (PAF), which supported the work of 395,000 producers.

In Honduras, CABEI also supported the implementation of a project to modernize the irrigation system of the Valley of the Comayagua (PROMORCO), which brought benefits to more than 1,222 families in the Valley of Comayagua that currently exports their production to national and international markets. Currently the CABEI contributes with the Project to Improve Competitiveness (PROMECOM) in the department of Yoro, in Honduras, which benefits more than 15,000 families. Recently it has been approved the Programme of Agricultural Development Irrigation, with coverage in 11 departments, that include the rehabilitation of the Irrigation Districts of Selguapa and San Sebastian, and the construction of the systems of the irrigation of Oloman and Sulaco, beneficiating more than 4,358 families.

Meanwhile, in Honduras WFP is implementing projects that aim to protect the environment in vulnerable zones (management of small watersheds) and diversify the livelihoods of the poor populations with planting fruit trees and using new techniques for water conservation. The activities of this project will include the establishment of tree nurseries and home gardens and the implementation of food-for-assets activities. 

Part of WFP’s mandate is to invest in measures to prevent and mitigate hunger. The WFP Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, approved by the WFP Executive Board in 2011 highlights that disaster risk reduction is a central priority for WFP and aims to build the resilience of communities to ensure their food security and mitigate the impact of natural disasters on their livelihoods.