For years, Maria del Carmen García (pictured above) planted with faith but without certainty. Heavy rains, long summers, and pests made every harvest a gamble. “You planted without knowing if you would harvest,” she said. “Everything was uncertain.”
From Producer to Job Creator
That all changed with the Integrated Rural Development and Productivity Project (SAG-ProOccidente). As part of an investment plan, Maria received a mesh house covering 2.1 hectares with drip irrigation. This climate-smart technology allowed her to grow tomatoes and sweet chili peppers, improving her income and production quality. Today, she produces with confidence and has become a source of employment for other women in her community.
The SAG-ProOccidente project, implemented by ACDI/VOCA, is a five-year initiative led by Honduras’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG). SAG-ProOccidente aims to boost the incomes of rural families in the Honduran Dry Corridor, a food producing region in western Honduras prone to extreme weather.
Technology that Protects and Empowers
In addition to boosting her production and income, Maria has strengthened her own producer organization, of which nearly half (42 percent) of members are women. She leads processes and has benefited 60 families, generating more than 4,000 days’ wages and strengthening community resilience.
Her story reflects what happens when technology, technical assistance, and inclusion come together: Honduran agriculture thrives, and rural women sow a future of equity and sustainability.
About SAG-ProOccidente
SAG-ProOccidente works with multiple partners, including local producers, the private sector, indigenous organizations, and small and medium enterprises, to build sustainable economic and climate resilience and reduce migration out of the country, promoting self-reliance through local ownership.
SAG-ProOccidente is providing technical assistance and training to more than 10,000 agriculture and livestock producers across six departments and 88 municipalities by helping them adopt new climate-smart technologies and practices and improving their access to finance.
Activities take place in the western departments of Santa Bárbara, Copán, Ocotepeque, Intibucá, Lempira, and La Paz, focusing on horticulture, fruit, coffee, cacao, dairy cattle, and those related to cultural products of ethnic origin.
The project is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) through the Fund for the Promotion of Development (FONPRODE).
Learn more about SAG-ProOccidente.
