Colonia Alameda
13ra calle Tiburcio
Casa No 228
3628 Tegucigalpa
Tel: 00504 - 232 6982
Fax: 00504 - 235 6982
Contact: Mr Marvin Ponce
www.twnside.org.sg

COCOCH is a network of 10 farmers' federations established in 1988. With its base group of more than 3,000 farmers' groups and co-operatives, rural enterprises, rural women's organizations, small agricultural producers comprising some 200,000 direct producers, COCOCH provides the structure that brings together the organizations of farmers and small producers of Honduras.

Member of the International Land Coalition 2003

ARnet

Network Support Programme

Proyecto de incidencia en políticas agrarias y fortalecimiento organizativo de COCOCH

With this extensive membership and outreach, COCOCH has been helping to ensure that the Honduran farmers' movement has representation in all mechanisms and situations that relate to agrarian reform in the country. At the same time, COCOCH espouses an agrarian reform model that incorporates a sustainable development framework in the context of Honduran conditions.

Effective policy development using grassroots inputs. In response to the national rural poverty situation, with 44 percent of the rural population lacking adequate access to land, credit and employment (1993 Farm Census), COCOCH attempts to determine the real needs of peasant groups for land and to use these as basis for their demands vis-à-vis government. The knowledge and experience from the grassroots and civil society groups serve to inform COCOCH in its formulation and advocacy for alternative policy proposals to government.

Networking. This, along with increased networking with other civil-society organizations and other sectors, leads to innovative solutions on how farmers can obtain greater access to land and other productive resources.

Combining networking with policy advocacy. One such effort of combined networking with effective policy advocacy is the first draft of a forest law that the Agro-forestry Alliance, led by COCOCH with other civil-society organizations, presented to the Honduran president. The proposed law, which has six main sections: social function, institutional framework, forest management, environmental funding, possession and protection of the forest, totally delegates to the communities, farmers, and the indigenous peoples the management and stewardship of the forest.

Capacity building of members. As part of its capacity building functions, COCOCH also seeks to strengthen members' organizational and communication frameworks and competencies in order that they are better able to confront the land and rural development problems in the country.

Farmers' organizations
Co-operatives
Rural women's organizations
Small producers