When coffee prices crashed in Honduras in 2018, Evelio Miranda, a Honduran coffee farmer, saw his income shrink rapidly. For him and his family, this meant greater food insecurity and newfound pressure to search for work in cities or ways to migrate to the United States.

To support Evelio and other farmers facing economic hardship, USAID facilitated a private-sector partnership that established markets for high-value crops in Honduras. The alliance connected EFI Solutions, a Honduran firm that sources raw materials for the cosmetic industry, to international buyers and Honduran processors. With Feed the Future’s backing, EFI Solutions provided extension services and equipment financing to smallholder farmers like Evelio, allowing him to begin growing crops like cardamom.

As a result, he doubled his earnings in 2020, enabling him to access better agricultural inputs for his farm, grow high-quality cardamom for herbal teas, and ultimately support his family. USAID has unlocked more than $30 million to date in Honduras in commitments from 50 private-sector partnerships, which is expected to create more than 30,000 new jobs in the country.