Buffett Foundation Donates US$2.4 Million for Small Farmers in Honduras

USAgNet
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation announced a two-year, US$2.4 million commitment to scale up the World Food Program's innovative "Purchase for Progress" (P4P) program in Honduras. P4P empowers smallholder farmers -- those farming less than 5 hectares of land -- through critical training, education and paying fair prices for their produce. Eight thousand Honduran farmers will benefit from this commitment. "P4P is one of the most important projects we have ever invested in. It truly has the potential to be a game changer," said Howard G. Buffett, President of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. "It is a groundbreaking program that differs from many traditional agricultural development projects by enabling smallholder farmers to build sustainable businesses through agriculture."

By targeting communities that are often excluded from commodities markets, P4P addresses both poverty and hunger. The initiative provides a much-needed income source to low-income farmers and stimulates rural economies. Through P4P, farmers learn to decrease their post-harvest losses and increase their productivity and yields.

The HGBF P4P commitment will also strengthen the organizational, financial and marketing capacities of farmers' organizations, while promoting opportunities for smallholders to sell to commodity buyers from the private sector, government institutions and NGOs. This will enable participating farmers to increase their incomes and gain the skills to permanently engage in formal markets.

Purchase for Progress was launched by the United Nations World Food Programm in 2008. With the support of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and other donors, P4P aims to help more than 500,000 smallholder farmers in 21 countries worldwide over five years gain access to reliable markets to sell surplus crops at competitive prices and bolster fragile local economies. (10/26/11)