Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

This article is a contribution to a four-week blog series celebrating 30 years of USAID’s John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program . Yaque del Norte watershed  The Dominican Republic (DR) is one of the only countries in the Caribbean where bananas continue to be a major export. Banana production is of particular importance in Yaque del Norte, an area vital in the country's food production. However, unpredictable weather patterns such as more frequent droughts, floods, and extreme weather have caused concern over the reduced quantity of available water. Poor agricultural practices including land-clearing, over-fertilization, and poor waste management also threaten the quality of water in the Yaque del Norte watershed - which is also the main source of potable water for several communities. Partners of the Americas’ Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program in the DR is working to protect the Yaque del Norte watershed through climate-smart agricultural technologies...

This article is a contribution to a four-week blog series celebrating 30 years of  USAID's John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program . Coffee growing in the shade Between plant disease, pests, and changing weather, farmers face more than enough challenges related to growing, harvesting and producing their crops. Once the crop has been collected, there is another set of problems for farmers to address in order for them to sell their goods-ones that require a whole host of management skills that many small farmers lack. Cooperatives allow farmers to work together, share tips and strategies, and organize policies for the whole sector. By pooling their resources, smallholder coffee farmers are better able to access financing, obtain technical assistance on improved farming practices, and sell their product at higher prices.  In addition to in-the-field experience and training, Farmer-to-Farmer also finds volunteers who are able to build the orga...

This article is a contribution to a four-week blog series celebrating 30 years of USAID’s John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program . Transferring skills, knowledge, and technology is the heart of the F2F program. US volunteers focus on practical interventions that improve farm and agribusiness operations or production, assist with marketing and market linkages, protect and conserve natural resources, and strengthen organizations. Below are three stories that showcase the difference volunteer interventions and impact of transferring knowledge and technology. Panama Chocolate Although Panama does not produce a lot of cacao compared with the rest of the world, the cacao of Changuinola has a lot of potential. F2F has been working with women who are participants in Partners of the Americas' EducaFuturo program which focuses on reducing child labor in the region. In a joint effort to improve the livelihoods of families and reduce child labor, EducaFuturo a...

This past week, the University of San Carlos in Guatemala granted the Botón De Oro award to Mr. William "Bill" Knox and Mr. Rodrigo Arias for their contributions to the caprinocultor (goat industry) sector in Guatemala. "I was humbled and deeply honored to be given the Grado de Botón De Oro for contributions to agricultural technology and best practices." - Bill Knox The award is given to professionals and academics for sharing their knowledge and contributing to the development of Guatemala in various sectors, such as agriculture. The secretary general of the USAC, Doctor Carlos Enrique Carney, made a speech regarding the excellent work that the Farmer-to-Farmer Program in Guatemala has been making towards the development of the agricultural sector through technical assistance. The University of San Carlos is committed to training professionals of high academic standards so that they can replicate their knowledge with the underprivileged of the country....

This story was featured on the Partners blog, found here . Partners’ Haiti Nutrition Security Program (Haiti NSP) began educating women and families about healthcare in some of the most poverty-stricken areas in Haiti in 2013. Haiti NSP’s Senior Technical Advisor, Dr. Altrena Mukuria, presented her findings for the role Care Groups play in exposing Haitians to nutrition and healthcare information at this year’s annual American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference on November 3, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference brought together more than 12,000 public health professionals and research experts. Nearly one in every three Haitians does not have enough to eat, and women and children are especially vulnerable to the impacts of malnutrition. Dr. Mukuria’s presentation focused on the ways social capital can be used to decrease the levels of malnutrition in a community. Social capital is, “the network of relationships among people who live and work in a particular societ...

Arcelia Gallardo is a F2F volunteer currently working in Panama with chocolate makers. To read Part One, click here . I am leaving Panama very hopeful for the future of cacao and the Ngabe women group, Noba Balen. We were able to create some amazing, delicious, simple products using normal everyday ingredients. When people think about creating food and desserts with cacao, they can’t help but think of chocolate, but using the cacao nibs themselves or transforming existing popular recipes is also a great way to make sweets. Two of the new recipes we made- Caramelo&Cacao and Popcorn&Nibs, were a way to take basic sweet recipes and convert them into a mature and sophisticated snack. Brittle is a common dessert both in Europe and the USA but it’s usually made with nuts; here we choose to use nibs. Caramelized popcorn is also a basic snack; corn, sugar, butter … and by adding cacao nibs we make it a bit more interesting. We made the most popular chocolate of Brazil, brigadeir...