Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Win the Battle Against Drought

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Oct 1 2012 (IPS) - Three peasant farmer communities in the southern Honduran department of Choluteca have been recognized for the good practices they adopted, through a program sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to withstand drought and adapt to climate change. The residents of El Obrajito, Caulote and San Juan Bosco, in the municipality of San Isidro, have been working on the management and conservation of water and soil, the cultivation of basic grain crops, and the development of a seed bank, under the guidance provided through the program.

Thanks to these practices, this year’s prolonged summer drought did not interfere with the harvests of potatoes, cassava, squash, onions, peppers and other vegetables, Suyapa Baquedano, one of the project’s beneficiaries, told Tierramérica.

Now the farmers record the days and amount of rainfall and store the precious liquid in large storage containers, she added.

The FAO program is aimed at promoting food security and has been underway for three years now.