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Steady economic growth, coupled with an effective aid programme for its poorest citizens, has helped Honduras reduce by almost one-third the proportion of its population suffering from undernourishment. Increases in food production, imports and stock drawdowns all contributed to putting more food on Honduran tables. Maize production nearly doubled between 1980 and 1996. Much of the increase was consumed not by people but as feed for the booming cattle industry. Maize consumption by people actually declined slightly. Vegetable oils and sugar accounted for most of the increase in food intake, with consumption of meat and beans also increasing somewhat.
Since Honduras adopted a far-reaching structural adjustment programme in 1988, the country's economy has been growing at an annual rate of 2.7 percent. The increased prosperity has helped bring safe water to 87 percent of the population and raise the literacy rate to 70 percent. Direct aid to the poor is provided through the Honduran Social Investment Fund, which has reached many of the most deprived. A ration programme supplies coupons to help schoolchildren, mothers and elderly people buy food and other necessities.
Despite its recent gains, Honduras faces difficult challenges. Economic growth has not eliminated wide disparities in wealth and income. Poverty and food insecurity remain relatively widespread. About half of the Honduran population is rural. And in the countryside, nearly 40 percent live in extreme poverty, with many working as agricultural labourers on large estates. Commercial agriculture offers good possibilities for growth, but the challenge of achieving a more equitable distribution of the benefits remains.
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Cambodia -
reaping the dividends of
peace
DPR Korea -
a bitter harvest
Cuba -
loss of trading partner erodes food
security
Morocco -
thriving economy boosts food
security
Afghanistan
- war leaves little ground for
crops
Ghana -
economic growth fuels rapid
gains
Burundi -
population growth and conflict
