As of February 2017: With funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Horticulture Innovation Lab has supported more than $7 million in horticultural research projects that affect smallholder farmers in Guatemala, Honduras and other Central American countries. Previously, the Horticulture Innovation Lab has examined aspects of seed systems, plant disease diagnostics, protected agriculture, postharvest practices, cooling technologies, food safety and agricultural extension.

During the Horticulture Innovation Lab’s current phase, projects include:

• Promoting drip irrigation and climate resilience in Guatemala
  The Horticulture Innovation Lab team leads the “MásRiego” project as a buy-in from USAID/Guatemala, scaling out drip equipment and conservation agriculture practices in the Western Highlands.
• Empowering women through horticulture in Honduras
  Janelle Larson of The Pennsylvania State University, leads this Women in Agriculture Network project that is improving ways horticultural value chains support equity for women and marginalized populations.
• Expanding tomato grafting in Honduras and Guatemala
  James Nienhuis of University of Wisconsin-Madison, leads this “Plántulas de Esperanza” project focused on vegetable grafting for entrepreneurship, which spins off previous work with evaluating varieties and producing disease resistant seed.
• Managing nematodes and soil health in Guatemala
  Brent Sipes of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa leads a project on integrated pest management and soil health for managing nematodes for the needs of smallholder potato farmers.

Horticulture Innovation Lab Regional Center at Zamorano

Hosted and led by a team at the Panamerican Agricultural School, Zamorano, this regional center serves as a hub for horticulture-related activities in Central America, particularly in Honduras and Guatemala. The center is also called El Centro Regional de Innovación para las Hortalizas y Frutas en Zamorano.

The center brings together key regional players to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers, with innovative technologies that offer solutions for local horticultural needs. The center also builds capacity for fruit and vegetable research and development with regional partners and Zamorano.

This fact sheet also highlights some of the Horticulture Innovation Lab's partner organizations in Central America and is also available in Spanish.