LA LIMA, Honduras — In El Paraíso, Honduras, 300 small farmers were using traditional production practices to produce onions on 80-100 hectares. Average yields were only 40,000 pounds per hectare, and weather, pests, and disease often resulted in lower yields or entire crop failures. Growers using modern production systems in other regions of Honduras are achieving average yields nearly three times greater.

Previous extension efforts for El Paraíso’s onion growers were limited. Fintrac agronomists are now providing direct technical assistance through the EDA (Entrenamiento y Desarrollo de Agricultores) program, which is funded by MCA-Honduras. The main objective of Fintrac EDA is to sustainably increase productivity and sales for program clients. The assistance in El Paraíso covers the entire production system for 29 lead clients, who have already made major changes and improvements. When Fintrac Field Agronomist Mario Cho first visited the zone he immediately earned growers’ trust by providing recommendations that saved their plantlets from downy mildew and Alternaria attacks.

“The changes we have made over a short period of time have been major and other growers in the zone have also seen the advantages of the new systems,” said Jorge Anibal Flores, an onion grower in Guinope.

As a result of Fintrac’s strategies in the field and recent successes, lead clients are ready to adopt other EDA-recommended production practices that are proven to increase yields and incomes, including:

• Improved soil preparation techniques (raised and contoured beds)
• Improved plantlet production practices for better quality (including plantlet size grading for transplant)
• Higher density plantings (400,000 plants per hectare versus 150,000 plants per hectare with traditional systems)
• First-time use of starter solution and biological controls during transplant
• Installation of new irrigation systems and improvements to existing systems (drip systems and overhead irrigation systems)
• Increased irrigation frequency from weekly to daily (with reduced water consumption)
• Introduction of other improved s­oil and water conservation practices resulting in reduced run-off, soil erosion and compaction
• Reduction in total fertilizer application (frequency increased from 3 to 13 applications, but smaller volumes required with each application)

The practices will be introduced during the current and next onion production cycle to reduce risks, ensure quality and further increase productivity.

EDA is scheduled to operate through May 2011, and will have directly assisted more than 8,000 farmers, increasing productivity, incomes, and employment.