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Under the shade of a large mango tree in El Limón, Honduras, farmers gathered to talk about their fields, their crops and how much has changed over the past decade. Green mangoes dangled from the branches above them, offering a welcome reprieve from the heat.

In the departments of Francisco Morazán, El Paraíso and Choluteca, mango trees are a familiar sight. So too are the challenges faced by rural communities, where food insecurity and malnutrition remain widespread., where almost half the population lives in rural areas and about two thirds work informally, without social protection.

A dry corridor facing a changing climate

The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) has been working in Honduras for more than a decade to improve farmers’ livelihoods and strengthen climate resilience from the ground up.

The Corredor Seco Food Security Project (Proyecto de Seguridad Alimentaria en el Corredor Seco, ACS-PROSASUR) received US$30 million, plus an additional US$5 million in financing from GAFSP. As part of the Alianza para el Corredor Seco (Alliance for the Dry Corridor, ACS), the Honduran flagship programme supported climate-smart interventions and irrigation systems for vulnerable families and communities across several districts in a largely dry swath of land.

ACS-PROSASUR closed in June 2025 after reaching more than 14,000 households. The project installed water irrigation technology and provided training in irrigation, crop diversification and other climate-smart techniques.

Poor families are concentrated in the Dry Corridor, where drought has long been endemic and weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable. Over a 10-year period, the project increased the availability of quality food, bolstered high-value crop production and incomes, and supported child health and nutrition, including growth monitoring.

From irrigation to opportunity

Since the beginning of the project, farmers have improved their average food-crop yields and increased annual crop sales, while also improving their dietary diversity.

Participating households achieved an average yield of 783.26 kg/ha, while incremental sales under business plans increased from none when the project started to an average of US$1,070 annually.

Cooperatives were also strengthened by diversifying and expanding the variety of crops they produce. In El Paraíso, for example, a beneficiary farming cooperative used a new irrigation system to grow corn, watermelon and beans both to feed their own households and to sell at local markets.

Ms. Sánchez, a cooperative representative, said the members collected their profits and divided them among households.

When communities grow together

The project’s impact extended beyond farms and fields.

At local clinics, project funds were used to purchase refrigeration for medicines and vaccines and to provide training on food safety, hygiene and family planning. The doctors serve a population of about 12,000 people, with some patients walking long distances to access the care they need.

After completing capacity-building activities and starting to raise awareness among patients about various issues, child mortality and domestic violence have decreased in the area, according to residents.

Community kitchens were also established through the project, where mothers and young children learned about nutrition and healthier diets to promote food security and healthier lives.

Making every harvest count

Thanks to the project’s irrigation systems and capacity-building activities, many farmers can now grow and harvest crops throughout the year, rather than just once.

Women and men attended agricultural field schools supported by the project to build their skills. New strategies allow farmers to grow crops during the dry period and achieve multiple harvests in a year, when previously they could only grow crops in May.
Machines have also been purchased to turn dried-out plants into bedding and animal feed, making use of every part of the harvest.

In El Paraíso, adult students learned to plant and harvest luffa plants and turn them into loofahs to sell at local markets. After designing and producing the loofahs by hand, they can generate income from a plant that is easy to grow and a skill that offers an additional livelihood opportunity.

Farmers from the small village of El Limón also spoke to visitors about their fields and the farming techniques they have improved with the help of the project’s irrigation system.

Growing more with less

Local households said they pooled their money to build the drip irrigation system and two large basin pools, where water is sourced from a private property.

Farmers also said they learned how to protect water sources, handle chemicals, prepare homemade pesticides and clean equipment.

They now grow corn in three fields instead of one, as well as watermelon, beans, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
“We can grow crops anytime now, even in the summer when it is dry,” said Ms. Moreno, the head of the cooperative. “This has been an improvement. We can do it all on our own land without the need to go anywhere else.”

Under the mango trees, these changes may seem simple: another harvest, another crop, another field brought back to life. But for families living in one of Honduras’ driest regions, they represent greater food security, new sources of income and the ability to build a more resilient future on their own land.

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This story was developed with contributions from Funda Cali, Analyst at the World Bank.