Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

In July 2014, Partners of the Americas’ Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Bill Knox made history by visiting the western highlands of Guatemala to provide the first-ever training on artificial goat insemination. Months of preparation by both Bill and his host organization, CEPROCAL-Altiplano (run by Save the Children), went into his assignment. From January to April, Bill conducted research on the restrictive Guatemalan import protocols for goat semen to ensure he would be able to successfully import 120 breeding units of frozen goat semen. He also sent photos and instructions to CEPROCAL to construct a simple breeding stand made of local materials that would be used to restrain the goats during insemination. His assignment was also timed so that he would arrive when the goats were in heat. F2F volunteer, Bill Knox, arrives with 115 pounds of instruments, supplies, and 120 units of frozen goat semen HISTORY OF CEPROCAL-ALTIPLANO Given the urgent need to improve the...

Partners' Farmer-to-Farmer program is currently recruiting volunteers for several open assignments in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Please see a list of volunteer opportunities below. As always, our in-country bilingual field staff coordinate logistics and F2F covers all travel, housing, food, and other related costs.  Please contact Courtney Dunham at cdunham@partners.net  for more information on the below assignments. Dominican Republic: Specialist in soil conservation and agroforestry (2-4 weeks in late October through mid-December): A specialist in soil conservation and agroforestry is needed to work with the NGO, Plan Yaque, in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. The volunteer should have experience in implementing  soil conservation practices on stepped slopes for hillside production (i.e., dead and live barriers).  The volunteer will train farmers and technicians on improved soil management and erosion control and appropriate methods and...

Partners’ Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program provides technical assistance along all levels of an agricultural value chain. This means that F2F volunteers may have expertise that is not related to production or the specifics of an agricultural product but may provide training in more cross-cutting areas. Last month, F2F volunteer, Diane Griffin, returned from her assignment in Nicaragua after spending two weeks providing technical assistance in marketing and strategic planning to three dairy cooperatives –COOPROLECHE, Nicarao, and CANISLAC.  Diane’s strong background in business development, leadership and management, and strategic planning allowed her to support the leadership of these organizations in several ways. Diane with CANISLAC and F2F staff. At COOPROLECHE, Diane mapped out business partners, donors, suppliers, and consumers in order to illustrate the strategic relationships that exist within their value chain.  She also supported COOPROLECHE in identifying oppor...

Leonardo Castro with some cheese made during this visit. Since 2012 the Nicaragua Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program has been working with Leonardo Castro on improving his family-owned dairy farm’s practices, production, and cheese quality.   His goals for the upcoming years include diversifying his cheese products, improving cheese quality, and increasing production, sales, and access to niche markets. About a year ago, shortly after receiving technical assistance from F2F volunteer Daniel Hewitt, Leonardo began producing and selling raw-milk Gouda through his start-up enterprise, Queso San Ramon. Salting the milled curd before placing it in molds. Due to customer demand, Leonardo has decided to diversify his cheese products by beginning to produce a cheddar-style cheese.  To support Leonardo in meeting his goal, Daniel returned to Nicaragua in July 2014 to train Leonardo and other community members in cheddar-style cheese production.   Through hands-o...

Last month, Partners of the Americas officially inaugurated its Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) office in Guatemala. Partners' F2F field staff are comprised of Country Director José Eduardo Cano, Field Officers Andrea Lucrecia Fión and José Abraham Jarquin, and Administrative Assistant Andrea Herrera. Partners' F2F program will focus on two key strategies: 1) strengthening horticulture value chains and 2) improving the productivity and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in Guatemala. From left: Andrea Herrera, Andrea Fión, Abraham Jarquin, and José Cano The F2F staff maintain regular communication with the USAID/Guatemala Mission to ensure that the F2F program complements Guatemala's Feed the Future strategy and, in particular, the Western Highlands Integrated Program (WHIP) . WHIP aims to reduce poverty and chronic malnutrition by focusing on the areas with the highest concentration of need and taking a collaborative approach with municipalities, commun...

Entrepreneur, José, experiments with diversified crops  and environmentally friendly management practices on his dairy farm In  Boyacá,  Colombia, Servicio National de Aprendizaje (SENA) supports an entrepreneur program that matches business advisors with young entrepreneurs interested in developing their own small business. The advisor assists the entrepreneurs in creating a business plan, trains them in basic accounting, and provides follow-up and support over a course of three years. To complement this program, SENA requested a Partners of the Americas Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer to provide additional technical assistance to the  entrepreneurs and their advisors. From June 21 to July 5, 2014, Margaret Morse, traveled to Boyacá as a Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer to assess the current agribusiness-specific strategies of the entrepreneurs and provide recommendations on ways to strengthen their businesses and take advantage of potential niche market opportunitie...