HONDURAS IN SPANISH MEANS DEPTHS, AND LOOKING AT A MAP, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THIS COUNTRY GOT ITS NAME. IT'S A LANDSCAPE OF VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS FORMING HUNDREDS OF SMALL CREEKS LIKE THIS ONE, SO SMALL IT'S CALLED THE RIO CHIQUITO.

LAST FALL DURING HURRICANE MITCH, THIS CREEK BECAME A RAGING TORRENT, TEARING UP TREES AS THICK AS OIL DRUMS, RIPPING OUT NOT ONLY HILLSIDE CORNFIELDS, BUT THE VERY SOIL THEY WERE PLANTED IN.

Sounds of rocks.

"All this was a big cornfield. The corn was this high and the ears were already this big. But during Hurricane Mitch, it wiped it all out...I watched as the electrical poles crashed down the river and I said, "My God, protect us, you have us here, you know what you're doing with us."

UPSTREAM WATERS LIKE THE ONES THAT TOOK OUT MARTA SAUCEDO'S HILLSIDE CORNFIELD LEFT OTHER LOWLAND FIELDS COVERED WITH STERILE SAND. MARIA ELENA FILDE WORKS CLEANING OFFICES, BUT HER WHOLE FAMILY FARMS ON THE ATLANTIC COAST, AND SHE RETURNS TO VISIT.

"It used to be really good land, for everything...We planted rice, corn, beans, yuca, whatever touched the ground grew. But not anymore...Whatever you plant dies, the leaves turn yellow and they die. The soil is no good now, it's salty and bitter."

THE SITUATIONS THESE TWO WOMEN HAVE DESCRIBED ARE RELATED. IAN CHERRET, A GEOGRAPHER AND ADVISOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION IN HONDURAS, SAYS SLASH AND BURN AGRICULTURE, AND THE TREE CUTTING THAT GOES WITH IT HAVE LEFT A FRAGILE LANDSCAPE SEVERELY WEAKENED. CHERRET IS INVOLVED IN A LONG TERM PROJECT DESIGNED TO PROTECT HILLSIDE SOILS, IN PART BY TEACHING CAMPESINOS NOT TO BURN AND LEAVE THE SOIL EXPOSED.

"We need to insure permanent coverage of the soil, crops and systems of mulch so you don't burn , you don't plow, you keep a permanent vegetative cover."

NOT JUST COVER CROPS, SAYS CHERRET, BUT TREES.

"We have to leave the hillsides with a tree cover, basically large deciduous trees with deep roots. Often people say Honduras is 85% forest historic vegetation, I don't think you can go back to that historical vegetation, but you can create systems of agroforestry where you can have at least 30% of your land covered with trees, and within that, you can in fact farm."

THE ANSWER TO THE THREAT FACING HONDURAN AGRICULTURE MAY WELL LIE WITH PROJECTS LIKE CHERRET'S. AND UNLIKE 15 YEARS AGO, IT'S NO LONGER ONLY TECHNICAL ADVISORS AND ENVIRONMENTALS ADVOCATING THESE IDEAS. EDILBERTO RODAS TORRES IS AN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER IN THE HONDURAN MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES. HE SAYS CONSERVATION OF TREES AND SOILS HAS GAINED WIDE ACCEPTANCE, AT LEAST AMONG POLICY MAKERS.

"It's an idea shared by just about everyone. Almost all the development projects are based on sustainable agriculture...but...I'd say we haven't reached even a third of the population living on the hillsides...for lack of funds."

PART OF THE REASON MORE SMALL FARMERS ON THE HONDURAN HILLSIDES HAVE NOT CHANGED OVER TO MORE SOIL CONSERVING TECHNIQUES IS THAT THE HONDURAN GOVERNMENT AND ITS INTERNATIONAL LENDERS HAVE FOCUSED MOST OF THEIR EFFORTS ON GROWING LOWLAND CROPS HONDURAS CAN SELL ON THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET, BANANAS, SUGARCANE, MELONS. AND THE DOLLARS THEY PRODUCE GO A LONG WAY IN THE HONDURAN ECONOMY, BUT MAYRA FALCK, AN ECONOMIST WITH BAHNCAFE IN TEGUCIGALPA, DISAGREES WITH THIS TRADITIONAL EMPHASIS.

"Government, international trade, they ask you for more cucumbers, more shrimp, more melons. How's your exchange rate doing? How's your interest rates? These are the questions every six months. What this means is that every six months, we have no idea what is going to happen. I can't lend money for a project for more than 6 months because I don't know whether the interest rates are going to change." "So there is a problem here. We have to take advantage of this moment in time to develop different policies. In the past we've helped with agro-export in the valleys, but how are we going to help in the hilly areas to improve conditions and reduce this inequality?"

THE IRONY IS OF COURSE, THAT THE SOIL THAT LOWLAND EXPORTERS RELY ON IS ALSO DEPENDENT ON THE HILLSIDES UP ABOVE. UP ABOVE TEGUCIGALPA ON THE RIO CHIQUITO MARTA ESTELA SAUCEDO EYES THE GURGLING CREEK THAT BECAME A ROARING RIVER 6 MONTHS AGO.

"When the rainy season comes, who knows how much the water will rise here again? And now with this huge flat beach that was carved out? Next time is going to be terrible."

WEATHER WATCHERS AGREE SHE'S RIGHT TO WORRY. ONE ADVISOR SAYS TROPICAL STORMS ON THE ORDER OF MITCH ARE LIKELY TO KEEP COMING AT SHORTER AND SHORTER INTERVALS, GIVEN THE COMBINED EFFECT OF GLOBAL WARMING AND EFFETCS LIKE LA NINA. IF HONDURAS DOESN'T TAKE THE LONG VIEW AND DEAL WITH ITS ISSUES OF TREE-CUTTING AND SOIL EROSION, HE PREDICTS IN 10 YEARS IT WILL BE ANOTHER HAITI, A DESERT DEVOID OF TREES WHERE THERE WERE ONCE FORESTED HILLS AND FERTILE VALLEYS.

FOR LATINO USA, I'M INGRID LOBET.