Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

This past weekend, Courtney Dunham, Senior Program Officer for Partners of the Americas’ Farmer-to-Farmer Program attended the “2014 Peace Corps Connect – Nashville” National Conference to promote Partners’ work in agriculture, food security, and youth development and to find potential Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) interested in becoming Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteers. Courtney also got a chance to meet with Gary Linn, the Chairman of the Partners Nashville Chapter, who is an RPCV from the Dominican Republic. Courtney observed: “As a former RPCV from Honduras, I know that RPCVs can make great Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers. RPCVs often have the language skills, cross-cultural awareness, and flexibility that allow them to quickly dive into their assignments. They are used to working in challenging situations and can adapt accordingly. This is especially important for F2F’s short-term 2-4 week assignments. RPCVs also embody the people-to-people mission of Partners of the A...

During the month of June, the Haiti Farmer-to-Farmer Program welcomed a team of two volunteers who provided assistance in queen rearing and queen performance. Chad Carlson and Dr. Michael Bauer conducted field trainings for beekeepers to understand the importance of the queen for hive health, demonstrate criteria for selecting and breeding the best queen, and eliminate any undesirable queens. These skills will allow producers to strengthen their bee colonies, reduce hive loss, and eventually produce more honey. Below are some photos from their assignment! Chad Carlson and Michael Bauer working with members of the AJTAP Beekeepers Association Hands-on trainings on hive health Beekeepers from Pierre Payen checking the performance of their queens by detecting larva damages Chad Carlson teaching different methods for checking the hives for mites Training of the trainers - equipping Beekeepers Associations and members of the Ministry of Agriculture to train others on...

Sec. of State, John Kerry, speaks at the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate Announcement Ceremony On June 18, 2014, Partners of the Americas' Farmer-to-Farmer Program attended the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate Announcement Ceremony where Secretary of State John Kerry announced Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram as the winner of the 2014 World Food Prize. Dr. Rajaram was born in India and is a renowned plant scientist whose research career began in 1969 at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. At CIMMYT, he worked alongside Dr. Normal Borlaug and, in 1972, was asked by Dr. Borlaug to succeed him in leading CIMMYT's wheat breeding program. His research in wheat breeding technologies has led to increased production of wheat by more than 200 million tons worldwide. Dr. Rajaram has developed over 480 varieties of wheat. To read more about his work and also to see remarks from the event, visit the World Food Prize website. Dr. Rajaram evaluating wheat in M...

F2F volunteer, Paul Wojtkowski, at a meeting with banana producers in northern Dominican Republic Paul Wojtkowski visits banana plantations at Banelino, a banana producers' association At the end of May, Partners of the Americas' Farmer-to-Farmer Program sent its first volunteer under the 2013-2018 Dominican Republic (DR) strategy that focuses on increasing the resilience of vulnerable populations to the effects of climate change. From May 28 to June 14, F2F volunteer Paul Wojtkowski agreed to serve as a climate change expert and to assess how climate change may impact the DR's banana and rice industries. During this assignment, Paul has conducted lectures and presentations on what is climate change, the potential impact of climate change on water availability and production, and measures banana and rice producers can take to best adapt to climate change both on the farm and at the community level. Paul is also working with producers and associations to find soluti...

Do you want to be the first to know about Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) and other Partners activities?  Then join the Partners of the Americas (Partners) network, PartnersConnect , and help us achieve our mission to “connect, serve, and change lives”.  Partners of the Americas has one of the largest and longest-standing networks of individuals and organizations in the Americas and has been implementing Farmer-to-Farmer and other agricultural programming since 1991.  In that time, Partners has built an impressive network of agricultural specialists, higher education institutions, and receiving organizations across the hemisphere.  By joining PartnersConnect, you become part of a network that works to combat hunger and build livelihoods.  Partners’ Farmer-to-Farmer program is collaborating with PartnersConnect to offer specific benefits to both friend and partner members. PartnersConnect memberships are also not just for U.S.-based organizations. LaSalle University ...