Mark Lopes, USAID’s deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, stated, “By leveraging the joint expertise of the United States and Brazil, we have an opportunity to help Hondurans rise out of poverty.” “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, an effort to lift rural households out of poverty through improved agricultural development and nutrition, USAID said in a press release. The Brazilian government’s expertise in hunger eradication, poverty reduction, renewable energy and agricultural technologies will also benefit Honduras, USAID said.

The new partnership is expected to:

• Provide renewable energy to isolated, poor Honduran families to help reach the goal of 10,000 new connections by 2015.

• Increase the incomes of 30,000 families from $1,200 to $5,000 over four 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.