Greater uptake of technologies in Honduras
In 2019, the IDB requested the Centre’s technical assistance in the design of the Bank’s USD 90 million Comprehensive Rural Development and Productivity Project in Honduras. This was thanks largely to the Centre’s earlier study and policy efforts on the use of digital technologies in Honduras’ agriculture sector.
The project seeks to sustainably increase the incomes of rural farming households in the country’s Dry Corridor by boosting agricultural productivity, competitiveness and access to financing.
Poverty and malnutrition rates are high in the region, and climate challenges, including recurring drought, hinder agricultural production. Many men migrate to cities in search of employment. Young people account for more than one-third of the population.
Promoting greater uptake of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and digital agriculture among small-scale farmers, especially women and young people, is key.
Technologies – from smartphones and precision agriculture to e-commerce, blockchains and drones – can help farmers make better decisions, boost agricultural productivity, manage resources more efficiently and increase competitiveness.
In the Dry Corridor, for example, the use of climate-smart digital solutions can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the region’s climate resilience by improving its watershed management. Digital technologies can also drive agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship, creating attractive job opportunities, especially for young people, along value chains.
The FAO Representation in Honduras envisions being involved in implementation of the project’s ICT component, with the Centre providing technical assistance. This would entail, among others, formalizing the systematic use of ICTs, providing incentives for ICT development for priority value chains and conducting trainings to improve digital literacy. The successful scaling up of ICTs must take into consideration the specific value chains, the profile of potential users, existing institutional structure and telecommunications infrastructure.
The Centre is also looking at how to leverage synergies between this IDB-financed project and other IFI-financed projects in Honduras, like the CABEI-financed GCF project that promotes the adoption of climate-resilient agricultural approaches in the Dry Corridor, and a World Bank-financed water security project.