World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Vice President Samuel Reyes switches on the grain processing plant as EU Representative Peter Versteeg, Minister of Agriculture Jacobo Regalado, and WFP staff Marlon Garcia look on.

"This project is changing the lives of our small holder producers," said Vice President Samuel Reyes. "We are grateful to WFP and the European Union for this important project."

Jacobo Regalado, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, tests the quality of the grain produced by the P4P producers in the department of Lempira.

Vice President of Honduras Samuel Reyes, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Jacobo Regalado, and Marlon Garcia from WFP Honduras fill a bag with beans processed by the new plant. Once the bags are filled, in this case with beans, they are distributed to the various programmes implemented by WFP in Honduras.

From left to right: Marlon Garcia of WFP, President of UNESSELL Angel Antonio Flores, Minister of Agriculture Jacobo Regalado, Vice President of the Republic Samuel Reyes, Mayor of Las Flores Wilfredo Cáceres, Representative of the President of the National Congress Antonio Hernandez, and Peter Versteeg, Charge d'Affaires of the European Union.

Delmi Castañeda, Rosalinda Matthew, Suyapa Alvarado Martínez, Sabina and Mary Rivers are some of the 2,965 women who are part of UNESSELL farmers organization. P4P promotes the empowerment of women and their active participation in decision making processes.

“This is the last dry harvest in my backyard," said Basilio Miranda. "The next one will be in our new plant!” The new plant will save small holder Honduran farmers time and money.

Angel Antonio Flores, President of UNESSELL with the Minister of Agriculture, Jacobo Regalado. "We are very grateful to the European Union and WFP because the only grain dryer plant that had existed in this region was for coffee production," said Flores. "We are very proud to be part of this project and now to have our own drying plant."

Marvin Quintanilla, Alberto Perdomo, Basilio Miranda and Edwin Socorro are small holder farmers from UNESSELL, which is an umbrella organization that supports 12 small holder farmers associations with more than 1,100 members in the departments of Lempira and Copán.

“We are happy that this drying plant was given to us, there is nothing like it in the entire region," says small holder farmer Leonid Benitez. "I could've have never dreamed that we would have one.”