Eodora Méndez, tireless advocate for the well-being of Honduran small farmers, is recognized as an IICA “Leader of Rurality”
Tegucigalpa, 27 September 2022 (IICA) – Honduran small farmer Eodora Méndez, who encourages rural residents to establish associations among themselves, in order to increase the efficiency of their food production and marketing, was recognized as a “Leader of Rurality” of the Americas by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
To this end, Méndez will receive the “Soul of Rurality” award, as part of the initiative by this specialized agency in agricultural and rural development to pay tribute to men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in the rural communities of the Americas – a key region for food and nutritional security and the environmental sustainability of the planet.
Méndez is a member of the Lenca indigenous community and was raised in a family of 13 siblings. The family earned their living by cultivating basic grains and vegetables. From a tender age, Eodora realized that family farmers could only aspire to a better quality of life through unity, cooperation, training and the search for direct sales opportunities.
Therefore, she completed studies in agricultural practices and in topics such as access to financing and became the first female president of the small farmer agroindustrial association, Empresa Campesina Agroindustrial de la Reforma Agraria de Intibucá (ECARAI). The organization brings together small farmers from various communities in the Honduran state of Intibucá. It has enabled 325 small farmers to boost their income through the production and marketing of grains and vegetables.
The Leaders of Rurality award recognizes individuals who are playing a critical dual role as guarantors of food and nutritional security and custodians of the planet’s biodiversity, by producing under all circumstances. The recognition also highlights these individuals’ capacity to serve as positive role models in the region’s rural areas.
The woman who sought to unite farmers
Raised in a rural community in the Intibucá department of Honduras, Eodora Méndez recognized from early on that family farmers should unite and organize themselves to give themselves a better chance of progressing.
She recalled that, “We were a family of 13 siblings and our parents were potato, corn, bean and vegetable farmers. I realized that things were difficult for us and decided that in order to get better prices, we should join with other farmers to sell our produce as a group and without intermediaries in the markets of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, which are the two largest cities in the country”.
Armed with this conviction, Eodora passionately dedicated her efforts to cooperativism, with the aim of improving her community. To do so, she underwent training, not solely in strictly agricultural issues, but also in areas such as access to financing and accounting.
Finally, she was appointed President of the Empresa Campesina Agroindustrial de la Reforma Agraria de Intibucá (ECARAI), a rural organization with an entrepreneurial outlook that represents communities in the upper region of the department of Intibucá in Honduras. It has enabled 325 small farmers to successfully cultivate and market grains and vegetables as a group.
ECARAI is made up of 13 primary cooperatives, with each member cultivating on average 1.2 hectares of high-value vegetables, especially potato. The company is managed by small farmers from the Lenca indigenous community, who have evolved from subsistence farming to a large-scale production system and business.
Eodora explained that, “The company was founded in 1994 but made little progress up to 2005, because our members did not possess the necessary expertise to improve their production and marketing. Then we realized that we would have to develop a different mentality that would prioritize training and organization”.
“Organization”—she said—“is critical, because when a farmer operates alone, it is difficult. For example, it is hard to ensure the continuous production needed to access markets. The more people join together the better it is. It makes it easier to plan your production so that you are able to satisfy the needs of the market. Everything depends on proper planning”.
Indigenous pride
As someone with indigenous roots, who is a member of the Lenca people who reside partly in Honduras and in El Salvador, Eodora has always loved agriculture. She was just 15 years old when she asked her father to set aside a small plot for her to grow her own crops, as a means of earning an income and not having to depend on anyone. She proudly recalls that, “My father, who has now passed away, left behind many valuable lessons about how to take care of the land and to prepare me to be a good farmer”.
She subsequently joined a group of young people involved in artisanal weaving, but then returned to agriculture. Having married and had four children, she and her husband then turned their efforts to cultivating vegetables and basic grains, foods that are daily staples in Honduras.
Yet, she sensed that she needed more and decided to get training. She also began to participate in community organizations, with the dream of contributing to the well-being of her people. Along the way, she had to tackle societal prejudices regarding the role of women.
She confessed that, “I preferred to ignore the comments of many people. I was lucky that my husband realized that men are often very chauvinistic and want their wives to stay at home. He understood that I wanted to work so that we could move forward together”.
At first, Eodora was able to cultivate her crops with financing from the Mi Tierra program, which was spearheaded by the rural development foundation Fundación para el Desarrollo Empresarial Rural (FUNDER). FUNDER is a non-profit that promotes farmer associations, to facilitate production in competitive conditions, within a framework of environmental awareness and gender equity, while also providing members with the income needed to stay above the poverty line.
In 2014, Eodora joined ECARAI and in 2016 became the company’s first president, a position that she held until 2020 and to which she was re-elected in 2022.
Today she is also President of the Consorcio Agrocomercial de Honduras, an agricultural consortium that seeks to boost the production efficiency of small farmers and to improve their market access. The consortium includes ECARAI and seven other agricultural companies in the departments of Intibucá, El Paraíso, Francisco Morazán, La Paz and Cortés.
The consortium provides farmers with financing, technical advice and the ability to sell their produce under the collective brand El Agricultor, which supplies consumers with fresh and healthy food.
“Farmers face problems such as pests, diseases, increased input costs and of course the impact of climate change. There are extensive periods of drought that dry up the rivers and wells that we use for irrigation. There are also strong storms that wash away the soil nutrients. By organizing ourselves we can tackle these difficulties”, said Eeodora.
Furthermore, she stressed that, “We have to protect agriculture. If we do not alter or practices, one day we will no longer be able to produce. We don’t want to be left behind and that is why we are aiming for continuous improvement, with technical assistance and new technology. We are also focusing on using non-toxic inputs, taking care of the environment and the health of the producer and consumer”.
Eodora also constantly engages with youth to demonstrate to them the possibilities offered by agriculture. “Some decide to leave the country, but I tell them that without sacrifice you cannot achieve, wherever you are. I explain to them that we have natural resources here and it is just a matter of setting a goal and getting training, in order to discover the opportunities”.
“If they look for ways to add value to their crops, explore different sales channels, take care of their farm and learn how to manage it, agriculture can enable many people to move ahead in life”, she concluded.
More information: Institutional Communication Division.comunicacion.institucional@iica.intPhoto gallery