Promoting Food Security in the Choluteca and Rio Negro Watersheds (PROSADE)

This is a new feature, part of CIDA’s efforts towards increasing transparency. Information will only be available for projects approved after October 15, 2011. For other projects, information on expected results is usually included in the description.

Results achieved as of March 2016 include: Water and risk management: (1) completion of 19 watershed action plans to help protect the environment and 19 local watershed committees organized where 62% women, who are now occupying decision-making positions, were trained to better manage risk and to adapt to climate change; (2) rehabilitation of water and sanitation infrastructure in 17 school buildings; (3) 676 latrines were built; (4) 657 improved eco-friendly stoves were constructed through a women-led business (Barros de Calaire); and (5) 16 water systems were installed, benefiting 10,407 people with access to safe water and hygiene facilities. Community health: (1) three work plans were developed with the Ministry of Health to jointly monitor nutrition levels in municipalities, allowing for 3,826 girls and boys under the age of two to be evaluated by project-trained personnel in 37 Community Health Units for chronic malnutrition; (2) training in nutrition, health and hygiene was provided to 7,456 women, men and children, health volunteers and women’s networks; and (3) 97 nutrition campaigns were conducted and seven municipal youth networks were organized. Agricultural production: (1) 2,015 (1 017 women and 998 men) farmers gained knowledge of three or more sustainable agricultural practices and are now cultivating 933.60 hectares of land more productively and with better conservation methods; (2) 959 family gardens were established; (3) the project also developed an innovative geotextile bag for storing 25,000 liters of rain water by household; (4) 173 micro-irrigation systems were installed; and (5) 1,918 grain storage structures were established, 81 grain banks and 20 local agricultural research committees were created to provide information on new farming practices and technology to local farmers, resulting in 1,097 families covering their demands of staple foods due to increased yields in maize (75%) and beans (121%) and the reduction by 55.80% in sales to intermediaries. Rural credit: (1) 77 “cajas rurales” (rural savings and loan funds) were created with 2,422 members, awarding 49% of the credits to women; (2) four sustainable revolving credit funds were created, granting 321 loans (surpassing the target of 200) by the WaterFund managed by the Chorotega Cooperative; (3) continued technical and financial support to the Business Development Centre for the Gulf of Fonseca was provided, enabling assistance to 104 small and medium enterprises; and (4) the project developed a proposal to transfer the ownership of the WaterFund to a Regional Fund managed by the Chorotega Cooperative with the technical support of the Gulf of Fonseca Small Business Development Center. At the end of the project, chronic malnutrition (height-for-age deficiency) among children under two years was reduced by 7.9% (baseline 28.1% and final evaluation 20.2%) with a reduction of 7.7% for boys and 8.5% for girls; a 10.2% reduction of diarrheal diseases in children less than five years was achieved; families’ welfare rose 36%, exceeding the planned target of 30%, and the average household income increased by 36.7%. Canada’s support also helped more than 28,500 families living in 160 most at-risk communities in the Dry Corridor of Honduras to mitigate and adapt to climate change, by applying best management practices of smart agriculture and by using the most efficient reservoir for rain water catchment in areas lacking of natural water sources through an innovative geotextile bag for storing 25,000 liters of rain water by household.