Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Twenty-eight greenhouse vegetables producers in Constanza, Dominican Republic, along with technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research (IDIAF), completed a course entitled "Development of Management Skill in Post-Harvest Handling of Greenhouse Vegetables for Export."  The course was implemented by the Farmer to Farmer Program with the support of the Cluster de Invernaderos (Greenhouse Cluster), the Universidad Interamericana (UNICA), the Ministry of Agriculture and the IDIAF. During the graduation ceremony, the Director of the Farmer to Farmer Program in the DR, Dr. Rafael Ledesma, urged the graduates to use the knowledge they received because they know first hand that losses due to mishandling vegetables during post-harvest significantly reduce the quality and price of product in the markets, both local and export markets. The Farmer to Farmer Program in the DR supports the development of the greenhouse...

Marcela Trask, Peggy Carlson,  Meghan Olivier,  Christine McCurdy and Samantha Mitchell Whether it is Felices Fiestas, Happy Holidays, Jou konje Happy, Boas Festas or Joyeuses Fêtes, the holidays are a time to celebrate. During this season, we would like to thank all the dedicated volunteers, field staff, program collaborators, host organizations, funders and all the others who have made our  Farmer to Farmer  Program a success. Thank you and best wishes for 2012!

Analyzing plant health - Guyana shadehouse project A few of the local Partners of the Americas Chapters who collaborate with the Farmer to Farmer Program have some recent news-worthy stories. The Guyana Chapter of Partners of the Americas, leaders of the local shadehouse project, have recently created a Chapter Facebook page to share their news with you! The page will feature their activities, especially those related to Youth Programs and Farmer to Farmer . To check out and follow their page, click here , sign into Facebook, and "thumbs up" or "like" their page. The Haiti Chapter of Partners of the Americas is celebrating the accomplishments of chapter member and past president Guy Etienne, who was recently named one of 20 finalists in Haiti's Digicel 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year contest. Guy heads the competition's education category due to his innovations as Director of the College Catts Pressoir in Port au Prince. Guy was also instrumental in fa...

On December 2 nd , the Farmer to Farmer team sent our first Colombian-bound volunteer to the rural community of Anaime, located in the central-western department of Tolima. John Rushing of Cary, North Carolina is working with la Fundación Colombianos Apoyando Colombianos (Colombians Helping Colombians Foundation), an organization designed and coordinated by Partners of the Americas with the mission of improving the quality of life of Tolima’s citizens and helping provide employment and income-generating opportunities. A specialist in food technology and dairy processing, John is working with a group of youth in Anaime to assist them with a small dairy production enterprise that they have initiated through Colombianos Apoyando Colombianos . The group plans to focus on products including condensed milk, arequipe (dulce de leche), cheese and yogurt. Students in the processing room in Anaime. When John met with the youth for the first time, he found that their biggest challenge is ...

Below is the story of Mahindra, one of the shadehouse growers participating in Partners of the Americas' Farmer to Farmer Program in Guyana. He recounted this compelling story when I was in Guyana this past August, and he is eager to share his good news with others! The video mentioned below can be viewed this previous post . Mahindra had invested nearly all his family’s money in his field crops, but they failed due to weather or other conditions. He was at the end of his rope, and was worried about how he would make ends meet for his wife and 4 children. He began exploring all options, including difficult manual labor jobs and assistance for his agriculture activities. With the phone book in hand, he cold-called organizations in Georgetown, Guyana, looking for someone who could point him in the right direction to get back on his feet.  Crops growing in Mahindra's shadehouse, August 2011 No one was able to help him, but one day he called an international agency and a p...

Farmer to Farmer volunteers are in the news again! Jim and Jackie Resick from Wisconsin are finishing up their trip to the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, where they were conducting assessments and trainings related to gardening, small business development, and direct marketing with the Community Achievers Project. Click here to read the article announcing their visit, on ZIZ online news.