Food for All - Agri-culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature - page 78

Chapter 4
Food for All
Revolutions in Central America
Elias Zelaya's hillside farm is found near a pine forest on the edge of the
remote village of Pacayas in central Honduras. Fifteen years ago, the whole
community was in the doldrums. Farms were poor-quality pasture and
maize land, and many had been abandoned as worthless. No child in the
village had ever been to secondary school. Land prices were low, and people
saw their futures only in out-migration to the city. Yet, now local farmers
are in the vanguard for diverse, sustainable and productive agriculture. In
the mid 1980s, Elias happened to be in the right place and was lucky. He
was encouraged to train as a farmer- extensionist by Roland Bunch and
his colleagues at World Neighbors, and learned about low-cost, soil-
improving technologies and how to adapt them to his own farm. The
intercropping of legumes with maize immediately boosted cereal yields
and improved soil health. Step by step, over the years, Elias added new