Farmers in central Honduras have come a long way in management of hillside agriculture the past 25 years. Over 80 per cent of land in Honduras is tropical hillsides. Three-quarters of all the production of annual crops (mainly maize, beans and sorghum) is from hillside farms. Most farmers in the wetter hillsides depended on shifting cultivation for maize and bean. This changed only recently after the population growth made land scarce. The experiences of 48 communities in the central hillsides of the country demonstrate the variety of farmer response to this demanding challenge.

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, two-thirds of the communities were witnessing soil degradation. The average maize yield had fallen by 60 per cent. But farmers actively borrowed and adapted numerous innovations to make farming more sustainable. A fifth of communities reported that soil quality had actually improved since the 1970s. Maize yields in the most successful communities were 50-100 per cent higher than in the communities that had stagnated. Four notable elements explain the progress.

l By the mid-1990s, fewer than half of farmers still used burning to prepare their agricultural fields, in part due to farmers' realisation of the damage due to frequent burning.

l Farmers who produced high-value products were bothered about the soil quality. Soil conservation like mulching, terraces, and live barriers became the most popular among communities growing coffee.

l Farmers realised by 1995 that inorganic fertilisers were not enough. They felt the need of organic matter as well as of improving soil structure and its water holding capacity. Mulching became popular among those growing basic grains and coffee. Farmers near roads used chicken manure from commercial poultry farms to improve soil organic matter.

l Communities began protecting water sources, regulating land-use around water sources and protecting remaining forests. Nearly a third of all communities organised some type of collective action to control water runoff or to improve common lands.