Improving climate resilience of rural Honduran communities

Photo: Vivid imagery-Shutterstock.com

The OPEC Fund signed a US$20 million loan agreement with Honduras to co-finance a project that will enhance incomes and living conditions for some 70,000 people in rural communities, with a strong emphasis on boosting livelihoods for women and youth, reducing urban migration and strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change.

The project, co-financed with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the government of Honduras, will target Honduras’ north-eastern region – an area characterized by high poverty levels and food insecurity. The region is also highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which threatens the livelihoods of small subsistence farmers that comprise the majority of the population.

The PROINORTE project will work with up to 90 producer organizations and support them to enhance their organizational and business capacities increasing access to market value chains and optimizing primary production, transformation and commercialization models.

The OPEC Fund’s contribution will specifically finance rural production infrastructure, water management and climate change mitigation activities, including the construction / upgrading of 220 km of roads, water storage and sanitation facilities,  rrigation and food crops storage and processing facilities. In addition, around 10,500 energy efficient cooking stoves will be installed and environmental activities implemented, including reforestation of circa 1,000 hectares. Approximately 2,200 new on- and off-farm jobs will also be created under the project.

OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “We are pleased to support Honduran rural communities that are affected by the impact of climate change, food insecurity and urban migration. By providing communities with the necessary infrastructure and technical assistance, the project will promote self-sufficiency and sustainability.

Honduras and the OPEC Fund have been partners in development since 1976. OPEC Fund’s operations to the country have focused on energy, agriculture, transportation, financial (SMEs) and water and sanitation sectors, among others.