WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Governments of the United States and Brazil today formalized a partnership with the Government of Honduras to increase agriculture production, decrease undernutrition, and promote renewable energy in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

“By leveraging the joint expertise of the United States and Brazil we have an opportunity to help Hondurans rise out of poverty,” said Mark Lopes, USAID’s deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We can impact the lives of poor farmers who can double their income with guidance and assistance from the region.”

The partnership builds upon the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, a multi-agency effort to lift rural households out of poverty through  improved agricultural development and nutrition.  The Government of Brazil’s expertise in hunger eradication, poverty reduction programs, research, renewable energy, and agricultural technologies will also benefit Honduras.  This new partnership is expected to:

• Provide renewable energy to isolated, poor Honduran families to help reach the overall goal of 10,000 new connections by 2015
• Increase the incomes of 30,000 families from $1,200 to $5,000 over 4 years
• Pilot school feeding and nutrition education programs in communities in the western highlands
• Implement new farming systems that use less water and fertilizer and test new fruit and vegetable varieties

The United States and Brazil are also working together to promote food security and agricultural research in Mozambique and Haiti. USAID maintains similar trilateral relationships with Chile and Colombia.

For more information on the Feed the Future initiative, visit www.feedthefuture.gov.