Honduran Agricultural Research Foundation (FHIA)

The project"s purpose was generally achieved. FHIA has developed into a maturing, sustainable research organization with international recognition of its capabilities. Its contribution toward the value of 1993 nontraditional agricultural exports (NTAEs) was $8.1 million, about 18% of the total. Employment generated by NTAEs directly assisted by FHIA exceeded 6,000 in 1993, for a total of more than 10,000 jobs created between 1984 and 1992. Additionally, the value of NTAEs exceeded $150 million between 1984 and 1993, and farmers participating in FHIA programs increased incomes by at least 25%. The existing endowment structure will enable FHIA to maintain its current level of core services for the foreseeable future. FHIA"s service/contract fees consistently cover the organization"s direct, out-of-pocket costs for providing services. The project has directly benefitted approximately 600 women producers, agricultural professionals, and students through its various training programs, and much of the employment developed as the result of NTAEs favors the female work force. Additionally, an observed but unquantified benefit is the value of technology transfer. FHIA could be a more effective organization if communications were improved between internal divisions. The organization is also under increasing pressure from government agencies to take up government research needs, but government funding for this research has not been made available. Lessons learned include the following. (1) An independent private research foundation can be an effective vehicle to improve agricultural productivity and diversity, and to assist in achieving economic growth. (2) For a research and service-oriented institution to become financially self-sustainable, an endowment fund is necessary to ensure that the focus does not become dependent on support from governmental or secular interests. However, the creation of an endowment should follow a fairly long period in which the institution has proven its capabilities and relevance. (3) The likelihood of project success is increased if an established organization is chosen to implement the project. The Mission disagreed with the latter lesson, emphasizing that FHIA was not created from the United Fruit Co., but only occupied the same facilities as the company and recruited few of its staff, so that advantages to using an established institution were not significant.