Sustainable Coffee Production

Results achieved as of March 2016 include: (1) lines of credit for 23 coffee producers associations were secured for a total value of CAN $2.78M to help producers improve and expand their production; (2) 782 producers (168 women and 614 men) have adopted improved sustainable production and post-harvest practices surpassing the project’s target of 693; (3) increased coffee production and productivity on 1 660 hectares of land (final target: 1 825 hectares) belonging to 849 families (surpassed project target of 693 families); (4) 4.6 million coffee plants were distributed (exceeding the project target of 1million) along with 196 600 hardwood and fruit trees to improve agro-forestry systems and conservation; (5) 1 128 capacity-building events were held with themes such as the integrated management of fungus and soil and water conservation; and (6) six wet processing plants ten electrical-drying stations five warehouses one roasting station and 150 small-scale solar drying stations and 241 wastewater treatment reservoirs were built/provided as part of the project. These activities are contributing to improving the ability of the cooperatives to produce certified coffee in Honduras and thereby earn sustainable incomes. As a result eight organizations accessed international markets (Australia Austria Belgium Japan Korea UK and US) and members of 12 organizations received their organic certification. It is also the first year of production for renewed plantations which allowed for an increase in daily income from US$4.93 in 2015 to US$7.85 in 2016.