LA LIMA, Honduras — Every weekday morning, Nubia Fugon wakes up early, hops on her motorcycle and heads out to farms in Honduras to help small farmers solve problems.

“They understand my suggestions and we work well together,” Fugon said. “They tell me the problems they are having with their crops, and I try to answer them.

She visits three farms a day in the Yoro department of Honduras and then rides back to the Maria del Carmen Institute – where she graduated last year – to help student farmers and teachers increase yields at the school’s demonstration farm.

While at school, Fugon traveled by whatever means available.

“Sometimes I had to go by bus … and if I had to walk, I walked … and if I had to go by horse, I went by horse.” Fugon said.

Fugon is one of ten recent graduates to receive a one-year internship through USAID’s Rural Economic Diversification program. The program is helping these graduates with expenses, motorcycles to get around to farms, and, most important, Fugon says, is “knowledge,” through hands-on training that will last a lifetime.

RED’s internship program is part of the project’s push to have more highly trained agronomists in Honduras, which will help the country sustain the gains made through the program by ultimately reaching out to more small farmers. RED set out to solve the shortage through direct training, and by building a long-term solution through support to educational institutions. RED reached out to ten schools and inputs suppliers to form alliances for the creation of model open-field and greenhouse farms at the schools. These farms enable the schools to provide hands-on training to students and provide additional income to help finance other core programs at the schools. The schools are also assisted with curriculum development, hands-on training, and train-the-trainer programs conducted by Fintrac field agronomists and other technical specialists.

The schools will also expand outreach through monthly training days on the model farms, exposing local farmers to updated technologies and techniques.

When she first started as a RED intern, Fugon traveled around with one of the program’s agronomists, Eddy Flores.

“She has radically changed,” Flores said. “She knew the basics, and some theory. Now she has seen it all in the field and knows a lot more about how to conduct a successful farm operation.”

Fugon helps farmers with Fintrac’s production approach. She advises them on all aspects of growing operations from drip irrigation to proper pruning techniques to pest and disease management.

“In the beginning, the farmers were a little wary. Now, with her experience, growers pay attention to her instructions. She also feels a lot more confident when helping out the growers,” Flores said.

Fugon's experience as an intern has created new opportunities. She has already been approached by two institutions about future employment. She is interested in working directly in production and packing operations for a private farm and is weighing the options for her future after her internship. She has also started to further her education at the university level.
At the end of the day, Fugon returns to her home in Negrito.

When asked to reflect on the internship and the project, Fugon immediately thinks about the growers. She hopes that by the end of the project, the growers will be completely trained to grow any type of crop.

“When there’s a good attitude among the growers, they can accomplish anything.” Fugon said.