In Honduras’ La Moskitia, cacao agroforestry systems combine this crop with timber trees and other species to diversify production and income opportunities, while promoting more sustainable landscape management.
During September, 12 producers from the community of Twuas received the first cacao clones intended for the establishment and strengthening of these systems. The planting material was produced by the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA) and is part of a target to distribute 15,000 clones to producers in La Moskitia.
Photos by Brayan Alvarez, BLF/DIUNAT Territorial Council paratechnician.
Marlon Foster, WCS technician, explained that cacao will be established alongside other species, including timber trees such as mahogany, cedar, and laurel.
For Gregorio Lebaldo Jones, one of the producers from Twuas, this delivery represents an opportunity for the coming years.
“We feel happy. I see that this is good for me and for us.”
From nurseries to farms
In this first stage, 6,000 cacao clones were transported, representing 40% of the total target. Before each shipment, the plants’ phytosanitary condition and transport conditions were checked. Once established on the farms, their survival will be monitored.
Transporting the clones to Twuas required both overland and river transport. The plants left La Masica, Atlántida, traveled nearly 280 kilometers by road to Tocamacho, and then continued another 60 kilometers by river to Twuas, in the municipality of Brus Laguna.
The first journey took around 11 hours by land and six hours by water. Transferring the planting material from the truck to the boat required several additional hours of work and local support. In Twuas, the producers themselves also helped unload the plants.
Heavy rains and the overflow of the Don Goyo creek delayed the first shipment by around 24 hours. Despite this, no losses or significant damage to the planting material were recorded.
Production and productive restoration
The clones will be used to establish new agroforestry systems in the territories of the DIUNAT Indigenous Territorial Council (CTI), as part of efforts to support productive restoration and strengthen livelihoods in La Moskitia.
Plans are in place to continue transporting the remaining 9,000 clones and to follow up on their establishment in the field.
The activity is part of Resilient and Biodiverse Landscapes of Northern Mesoamerica, funded by the UK Government’s Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF), which supports cacao agroforestry systems in the territories of DIUNAT and Bakinasta in Honduras’ La Moskitia.