Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Farmers bringing their products to market Farmer-to-Farmer’s horticulture projects in Haiti have sought to improve production yields and profitability for small- and medium-scale fruit and vegetable producers. Improved production has been achieved through fundamental activities like conservation, fertility, and pest management. Building on these accomplishments, farmers have then been able improve post-harvest handling, processing, packaging and labeling, and market linkages. Some challenges still remain, including transportation, but farmers are seeing impacts from the technical assistance they received. From 2008 to 2013, 29 horticulture volunteers engaged in assignments ranging from permaculture training and seedling management to pest control and small-scale organic farming. The program has seen some excellent results. For example, the formation of the Lory Producers Association, located in the small farming community of Lory in northern Haiti, was a result of F2F and Ma...

Compost – decomposed organic material that is recycled as a soil supplement or fertilizer – is increasingly used in organic gardening and agriculture because of its economic and environmental benefits. Compost is created by combining organic wastes such as food scraps, yard trimmings and manure in proper ratios into piles or vessels and adding additional “ingredients” to facilitate the breakdown of the mixture. By manipulating the pile to produce high temperatures, pathogens and weed seeds are destroyed, and the mixture stabilizes to form mature compost; at this point, it can be added to soil to boost nutrient content and fuel plant growth. The benefits of creating compost, or “composting”, include: low cost; improves moisture and nutrient content of soil, promoting increased crop yield; replaces chemical fertilizers; diverts household/industrial wastes from the garbage can and, eventually, landfills. In Guyana,South America, individual vegetable producers, farms, agricultur...