Isidro Matamoros was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; he was raised on a farm in the southeast region of Honduras. On the family farm, Isidro worked on beef and dual purpose cattle and different crops such as cotton, sugar cane and maize.
Isidro graduated from Zamorano, Pan-American School of Agriculture in 1982. Later he was awarded a CAPS Scholarship and came to Mississippi State University where he got a B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D in animal science, animal production and reproductive physiology, respectively.
Isidro has been teaching at Zamorano University in Honduras since august 1990. Since 1991 he has been a consultant for mayor farms in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and Colombia.
On a personal basis, Isidro manages a dairy/coffee farm where, in a pasture based system, 450 cows are milked and a 127 acre coffee plantation is managed.
The farm is a 1,059 hectare property set in El Paraiso, Honduras. The farm is a project owned by 4 investors and was started in February 2007. The owners, RODEO SA de CV, is developing a 720 cows dairy farm which is managed in an intensive rotational grazing system during 8-9 months of the year and is supported by sugar cane for the rest of the year. Corn silage supports a supplementary diet based on the level of production that typically contains corn, soy bean meal and local agricultural byproducts. There are 16 permanent workers and everything else is managed on a contractual basis, generating an equivalent to 37 permanent working positions. The rotational pastures are being changed to Agrosilvopastoril systems on a 10 year plan. Coffee plantations are based on a natural shed system and will be completely renovated in the next 7 years.
Most of Honduras has a survival-focused agricultural system that does not implement technology and has very low yields. Most of the technological interventions are irresponsible, and do not achieve their true potential, putting at risk the potential benefits of implementing technology. Furthermore, trade is base off intermediaries whom usually make anywhere from 40% to 100% returns on their investment and raise the actual price of most agricultural produce. Major organization of farmers is needed, but they need to have responsible participation. Access to markets needs to change, and well designed credit programs need to come into being before a true development of agriculture can happen in Honduras.
