|
|
Geography, agriculture and the economy Located in Central America, Honduras covers an area of 112,500 km 2 and lies between Guatemala to the north, El Salvador to the west and Nicaragua to the south. On the north-east the country’s extensive coastline is washed by the Caribbean. The limited coastline on the south-west borders on the north Pacific Ocean. The population, which is about 7 million, is growing at an annual rate of 2.8 per cent. Honduras
can be divided into three ecological zones: the subtropical Caribbean
lowlands, which make up more than 50 per cent of the country's arable
land; the extensive interior highlands, which are mountainous and
have a temperate climate; and the Pacific coast, which receives little
rainfall. The Caribbean coast is vulnerable to destructive hurricanes
and floods. Honduras has an essentially rural economy. Agriculture accounts for about 23.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), which totals US$7.0 billion. The sector’s growth in 2003 was 2.2 per cent. Agriculture employs about 35 per cent of the country's active population and generates about 75 per cent of all exports. Bananas and coffee are the country's main export crops. Large multinational companies control all banana production. More than 80,000 small producers grow coffee, each on an average of less than 2 ha of land. Farmers
on the hillsides of the interior central highlands produce the majority
of the country's staples, maize, sorghum and beans, which are low-profit
crops. Land in those areas has low soil fertility and a high rate
of erosion. It is mainly in an advanced state of degradation, which
results in declining productivity. Most of the country's commercial
plantations are located in the fertile valleys of the central highlands,
where banana, sugar cane and African palm are cultivated. Since the early 1990s the Government of Honduras has been implementing an economic programme with the aim of introducing reforms and fostering macroeconomic stability. The economy currently shows an annual growth rate of about 4 per cent (2006). But poverty levels in the country have remained at the levels of the mid 1990s. There is still substantial inequality in income distribution, and unemployment rates are high throughout the country. Honduras' large accumulated external debt is a major impediment to sustained development. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, especially bananas and coffee, and this makes it extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices. Remittances, most of them sent from the United States of America, have become a major component of the country's economy.Source: IFAD |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
email this article