Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

If you take a look at a map of Guyana (many confuse it with Ghana, Africa) and locate the little town of Charity (west of Georgetown), you will see that there pretty much isn´t anything else west of there...or south of there either. Charity is on the frontier of civilization and in fact is found at the end of the highway from Georgetown. Although somewhat remote and challenged with some economic issues common to developing nations, this little town is not without several signs of economic success. One of them I was honored to meet during my volunteer visit to Guyana between March 12- March 26. I was accompanied by FTF Field Officer, Mr. Ryan Nedd, of Georgetown. In 2001 a group of women from the Pomeroon River Region, of which Charity is a part, decided to create an all-women, agro-processing association to (in their own words) ¨create meaningful employment for women in our community, improving their skills, knowledge and income to alleviate poverty.¨ I was sent to this all-women´...

Daniel Shaneyfelt just finished his trip to Guyana, having provided expert assistance in marketing to help small processors position themse access international markets. They produce products such as hot sauces, honey, and jams.  Mr. Shaneyfelt collaborated closely with EMRETEC-Guyana , which supports local micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs. Dr. Buckner (left) and Garner (2nd from left) meet with the KKFCLA Currently in Guyana are Drs. James Garner and Steven Buckner, who have traveled to Guyana to support local groups, including the Kuru Kururu Farmers' Crop and Livestock Association, in eddo (taro) production and soil fertility, and water quality management and testing, respectively. Dr. Garner maintains a longstanding collaboration between the University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff and the local groups participating in the FTF-Guyana Program, especially the KKFCLA. Consulting a map of the surrounding farms and waterways Members of the KKFCLA discuss ideas wi...

John Malcheski pauses for a photo during a 2005 FTF Trip to Haiti The Farmer to Farme r Team at Partners of the Americas would like to share our appreciation for the support, dedication, and friendship of volunteer John Malcheski. John passed away in his home on the evening of March 22, 2011, at the age of 78, after a brave battle with cancer. Click here if you would like to read the obituary. We continue to appreciate and benefit from his guidance and his keen sense of humor. Benito and John, 2007 John completed 7 trips to Haiti with the FTF Program between the years of 2005 - 2009 and became an important adviser to "Makage", now Makouti Agro Enterprise, during its early years and beyond. He first traveled after a tumultuous time in Haiti's history in 2004, shortly after the creation of a vegetable producers' cooperative, Makage. Through the years John has supported its leaders and members, especially founder Benito Jasmin who is almost like family t...

Partners of the Americas' Farmer to Farmer Program printed 2011 forage calenders for dairy producers in Nicaragua. The photos and forage information can be accredited to Farmer to Farmer volunteer, Yoana Newman, an Extension Forage Specialist at the University of Florida. Dr. Newman traveled to Nicaragua with the Farmer to Farmer Program in June of last year and during that trip Dr. Newman recognized the importance of distributing forage calenders to the producers to improve pasture management. The calenders were designed and printed in a way so each month of the calender has a photo of forages and pastures in Nicaragua and the page also indicates "things to consider" for that month, including tips on dividing pastures, cutting forages, weed control, the frequency of grazing and other useful and practical instructions. Dr. Newman designed the forage calender in collaboration with FAVACA, University of Florida, UNA (Universidad Nacional Agraria), INTA (Instituto Nicarag...

Three months after FTF Volunteer Tom Syverud traveled from Wisconsin to St. Kitts to assist the Community Achievers Project's (CAP) Riches of the Earth Farm in implementing organic production practices, the fruits of their labor are beginning to show. Thanks go to Victoria Baucom of CAP for sharing these photos and stories. Before: These youth are receiving vocational training through CAP to allow them to go back to high school with the hopes of graduating and having a better future. The farm was not currently producing, so Tom (right) and Sydney Berkeley (Riches of the Earth farm manager, pictured with colorful hat) taught the participating youth about composting and how to set up their own individual gardens. Nine square meter gardens were established. They also taught the younger kids about cultivating the land, while planting seeds together. Conducting soil tests provided instruction on the necessary soil nutrients. 3 Months Later: Qu...

If you are interested in farming systems in the US and abroad, you may be interested in reading one or both of these books: A Farmer for the World: A Biography of Richard Clarence Waybright , and Where the Road Ends: A Home in the Brazilian Rainforest . Both are related to Partners' Farmer to Farmer Program in one way or another. The first follows the interesting life of Dick Waybright (2010 FTF volunteer to Brazil) in his quest to grow the now-cutting-edge Mason Dixon Farms in Pennsylvania, plus his many agricultural and other adventures abroad. The second follows the travel adventure of Binka Le Breton and her husband Robin as they move their life to Brazil to set up a farm and home, and eventually create the Iracambi Research Center (2011 FTF host organization) to help conserve Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest.

When Robert Spencer reflects on his recent Farmer to Farmer trip to Haiti, he says it just may be his best yet. Spencer, a volunteer from Alabama who has just returned from his trip focusing on meat quality and safety, always appreciates the genuine interest and thirst for knowledge shown by those who attend his presentations in Haiti, not to mention the delicious food and coffee! To learn more about his trip, visit this article published by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Also, below are some excerpts and photos from his trip report. "The focus of this trip was to present advanced training of food safety and meat quality. Additional concepts addressed included: zoonotic and biologic issues, process improvement for rabbit processing, and consumer options for purchasing meats. Programmatic efforts to serve north and south regions of Haiti. All the aforementioned issues are a serious issue for producers and consumers in Haiti, while the problems do exist in a small...

Please see below a piece written by Farmer to Farmer Volunteer, Dr. Julie Keown-Bomar. The volunteer traveled as part of a horticulture team to Nicaragua and the article reflects her observations and findings on the local food systems. Learning about food systems in poor communities is an important step to address nutritional deficiencies, generate family income, develop local economies and promote better health. Three UW-Extension educators recently spent time in Central America asking people about their food situation and the barriers they face securing a healthy diet and a sufficient income for their families. University of Wisconsin Extension educators, Rob Burke (Door County), Arlen Albrecht (Taylor County) and Julie Keown-Bomar (Eau Claire County) spent time in Nicaragua with the Farmer to Farmer program, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program implemented by Partners of the Americas. Burke, Albrecht and Keown-Bomar volunteered to work with non-pr...

Partners of the Americas is screening the new documentary film Vanishing of the Bees on March 17 in Washington, DC, as a fundraiser for the beekeepers in Haiti . This is a captivating and educational new documentary about Colony Collapse Disorder. See below to view the trailer, or visit vanishingbees.com .  Although the film is not about the FTF Program, one of our beekeeping volunteers, Dennis van Engelsdorp, is interviewed in the film and we plan to show previously unreleased footage of him working with the bees in Haiti. We will also have copies of the film and Haitian honey and jam for sale. The screening is free; proceeds from the products will benefit the beekeepers who collaborate with our Farmer to Farmer Program in Haiti. We hope you can attend! Please RSVP to bees@partners.net. Vanishing of the Bees - Trailer from Bee The Change on Vimeo .

A team of Farmer to Farmer volunteers traveled to Nicaragua to provide assistance to the dairy industry. Each volunteer had a separate assignment but they were in constant collaboration and took a real team approach to the issues at hand. The volunteers worked with dairy producers, extension agents from dairy cooperatives, and university faculty.The volunteers were:  Dr. Jerry Doll - Assignment in Weed Control;  Dr. Gerald Nolte - Assignment in Animal Nutrition; and Dr. Anthony Jilek - Assignment in Animal Reproduction and Health. Please see below photos and excerpts from their trip report. Left to Right: Jerry Nolte, Daniel (FTF field officer), and Tony Jilek talk with a producer about his forages. Visiting a pasture in the Camoapa area. The grass is Brachiaria, an improved grass but showing a lack of nitrogen. Jerry Doll (right) speaks with Carlos Ruiz, an agronomy professor about the quality of the grass and the weed pressure.  Jerry Doll and Freddy Alema...