LA LIMA, Honduras — An entrepreneur from Honduras saw a need – and, with the help of Fintrac, he met it. Adalid Vásquez owns a small metal shop in Morazán, Yoro, where he makes lowcost sand filters based on an original design developed by Fintrac. The low cost and efficiency of the filters are critical to Fintrac’s push to install drip irrigation on 14,000 hectares in Honduras as part of the MCCfunded Farmer Training and Development Program (or “EDA” Entrenamiento y Desarrollo de Agricultores).

Vásquez’s company, Vásquez Mecanizaciones, is now under contract to produce 225 sand filters for EDA farmers that would otherwise have been imported at a higher cost, thereby reducing growers’ upfront investment and future replacement costs.

Drip irrigation is one of the central technologies promoted by Fintrac worldwide. Drip systems use water more efficiently, allow for more effective and cheaper fertilization of crops, reduce weed, pest and disease pressures, and significantly increase yields. Water filtration is an integral part of the system to prevent blockage in the lines and ensure even distribution.

Today, Vásquez Mecanizaciones has the knowledge, experience, equipment, trained labor and capacity to supply — at a national level — a filter that meets technical requirements for much less cost than imported filters. While most filters are sold to clients receiving Fintrac assistance through both the EDA program and the USAID-funded RED project, the reputation of the company’s filters have led to orders from other programs and growers throughout Honduras.

Expanding and supporting businesses such as Vásquez Mecanizaciones, which provide development services for the agricultural sector, is part of Fintrac’s efforts to sustainably increase productivity and sales for client farmers. By May 2011, the EDA program will have assisted more than 8,000 Honduran farmers in increasing productivity, incomes, and employment.