Biointensive Cultive of Dry Corridor

Climate change Strategy 1. Resilient Farms Strategy 2. Sustainables territories Technological-Organizational-Institutional Applied Agronomic Practices 2015 Closed

Code:

FTG/RF-15459-RG

Initiative:

Call for Proposals

FONTAGRO Amount:

USD 400.000

Counterpart Amount:

USD 600.930

Execution time

36 Months

Total Amount:

USD 1.000.930

Participating countries:

Nicaragua

Honduras

El Salvador

Funding source:

FONTAGRO Amount 40% Other agencies 0% Counterpart Amount 60%

Executive Summary

The Central American Dry Corridor is one of most vulnerable regions to the effects of climate change worldwide, which has already meant longer dry periods that intensify when the El Niño phenomenon is present, reducing rainfall by between 40% and 60%, as has happened during 2014 and 2015. All this translates into high levels of food insecurity in rural areas caused by insufficient and unstable food availability, low purchasing power and inadequate food behavior. The rural population have to fill their nutritional deficiencies and improve their family production systems, so that they can better adapt to the changing climate that seriously affects their crops.

The purpose of the project is to improve the availability and quantity of healthy food, promoting innovative techniques for the sustainable intensification of agricultural production for family farmers of three countries in the Central American Dry Corridor.

The technological solution

Technical solutions to contribute to solving the problems of food security and sovereignty through the use of harvesting and use of water technologies, validation of drought resistant varieties and the establishment of community seed gene banks.

Results

Reduce the food and environmental vulnerability of rural families with sustainable management of natural resources and a sustainable intensification of production systems for family farming under the biointensive cultivation method.
Strengthen 6 Biointensive Agroecological Centers as action research spaces for the dissemination of the biointensive method.
Validate and adapt 6 varieties of drought-resistant vegetables and basic grains at the community level for the sustainable intensification of family farming.
Establish innovative rainwater harvesting and irrigation systems for home gardens.
Promote community germplasm banks for the improvement of local varieties.
Strengthen local capacities for the dissemination of the biointensive method.

Beneficiaries

1,200 producers (55% women and 38% young people) of family farming
93 communities in 12 municipalities located in the Dry Corridor of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.