Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Horticultural Specialist Gary Hickman is currently volunteering in the Dominican Republic on a greenhouse assignment. Mr. Hickman will be consulting with government officials and providing training workshops for local farmers to help them improve production, optimize productivity, and increase income. During his visit, he will be meeting with various members of the Dominican government (both current and previous) to discuss the future of greenhouse policy in the country. These meetings include former President   Hipólito Mejia. H ere, Hickman is pictured in a meeting with the Agricultural Committee of the Dominican Congress discussing the new greenhouse public law.   “Every day the Farmer to Farmer Program is getting some kind of recognition by the agricultural sector…” - Rafael Ledesma Schoowe

Marta Fajardo (left) with FTF Volunteer Yoana Newman Dairy farmer Marta Fajardo raises around 60 cows on an 85-hectare farm in the Camoapa region of Nicaragua.  She has been working with Farmer to Farmer volunteers for several years to help improve her milk quality, herd health, forage and feed options and more.  During a recent visit to her farm, Marta was excited to report increased calving rates – double what they had been in the past. Marta’s cows now calve every year rather than every other year, and Marta is happy to attribute this exceptional increase to the mineral salt she now adds to her cow feed – the suggestion of a Farmer to Farmer volunteer. Marta’s cows have also increased their milk production from three to three and a half liters per day, and she has seen other improvements in her farming systems. Because one of the key aims of the Farmer to Farmer program in Nicaragua is to aid farmers in producing more, contaminant-free milk, stories like Mar...

Recent FTF-Haiti volunteer Nick Brubaker put his photographic skills to good use while in Haiti. Since his return to the US he has created a photojournalism piece with some of his many photos, bringing attention to the situation of farmers in Haiti and especially the work of Farmer to Farmer and Makouti Agro Enterprise in improving the Haitian agriculture industry and the lives of small-scale farmers. This photojournalism piece was recently entered into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation "Small Farmers are the Answer" Challenge, a competition soliciting various forms of creative works which show the value that investing in small-scale farmers has in economic growth and development. Nick volunteered in Haiti this spring as a website design specialist for the purpose of improving the design and functionality of the Makouti Agro Enterprise website. Special thanks to Nick for his work developing the slideshow. Thanks also to our other talented FTF volunteers, and the mon...

Glen Juergens, Certified Forester and member of the International Society of Tropical Foresters, recently returned from a successful Farmer to Farmer “flex” trip to Honduras where he worked in collaboration with the Sustainable Harvest Foundation of Honduras (FUCOHSO) to survey 14 water sources for 12 communities in the Departments of Yoro and Santa Barbara. FUCOHSO is an organization which aims to improve the nutrition of rural families in remote communities, aid in the attainment of economic stability, and teach better farming methods using organic technologies in a sustainable manner. FOCUHSO also focuses on imparting to families the importance of protecting the environment, forest and water resources in order to improve their lives over the long term. As a former Peace Corp volunteer stationed in Honduras, Juergens personally confirms that FOCUHSO is making significant and beneficial improvements to the lives of these people. Below are a few excerpts and reflections from...