Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Partners of the Americas' Agriculture and Food Security team wishes you Happy Holidays!  2016 has been a great year, with lots of stories and impact from our programs. F2F volunteers helped strengthen Haitian coffee cooperatives , improve the quality of calves in the Nicaraguan livestock sector , aloe vera producers in Guatemala to reduce water , and helped improve water management in the DR . Our Nutrition Security Program in Haiti reached over 25,000 pregnant and lactating women , held cooking demonstrations to share nutritious recipes , and changed lives in one of the most challenging countries in this hemisphere. And 2017 is going to be an exciting year. Our Farmer-to-Farmer Program in particular has a lot of exciting assignments we are recruiting for throughout the hemisphere. Check our website for a sampling of open assignments, or drop us an email ( mmoscarelli@partners.net ) with your resume and we will see what might fit your skills. Enjoy the rest of 2016 and have

Photo from first training of Makouti technicians by Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer Robert Spencer I have been volunteering in Haiti for ten years. My initial work involved meat rabbit production and evolved into food security and meat quality assurance; this is my first assignment specific to meat goat production and management. This assignment was expected to help producers to 1) evaluate/assess their current system of goat production management, including feeding, reproduction, and overall maintenance (shade, ventilation, aeration, heat, etc.); 2) identify and reinforce best practices to improve the quality of their product. Excessive rains and flooding were a serious constraint during this visit, we received over 36” of rain during our two weeks. For the first five days we had limited access to areas beyond the hotel, and our in-country colleagues were unable to access us. Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak (F2F volunteer from California) and I took advantage of this time to develop relev

International Volunteer Day, started in 1985 by the United Nations, is an opportunity to celebrate all those who volunteer their time to make a difference in the world. Partners' Farmer-to-Farmer Program would like to thank all the excellent volunteers who have traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean to work with their counterparts to address agricultural and environmental issues.  Giving your time has made a difference in the hemisphere! And we thank you.  Below, a few of our Partners F2F volunteers share about their experiences. 

Dear F2F volunteers, blog readers, and friends: This Giving Tuesday, make a donation to support a unique opportunity for our Guatemala Farmer-to-Farmer field officer, Andrea Fión! Many of you have come to know Andrea Fión, one of our outstanding field officers for Partners of the Americas’ Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program in Guatemala. Andrea has been a field officer for F2F for 2 ½ years. In February 2016, Andrea accompanied two F2F volunteers as they completed their assignment to train aloe vera producers in integrated pest management and production. They were so inspired by her intellect, motivation, and hard work that upon returning to the US, they kept in touch and sent her information on presentation opportunities at various conferences throughout the US.  With the help of several former F2F volunteers to Guatemala and one F2F volunteer to Ghana, we were able to submit an abstract to present on “University Extension educators responding to international emerging issues

Dear blog readers, Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers, and friends: On behalf of Partners of the Americas' Agriculture and Food Security Team and our field staff throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, we would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for continuing to read our blog, staying up to date on our work, and volunteering with our program. Our Farmer-to-Farmer program would not be a success without you!  Here are some special notes of thanks from around the world: F2F field staff say thank you in different Mayan dialects "Thank you for your support" from banana producers in the Dominican Republic "Greetings from Nicaragua! Thank you for your support" - a postcard created by the F2F Nicaragua field staff

Through the Farmer-to-Farmer program, Partners of the Americas has supported beekeepers and honey producers in several countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In October 2016, F2F volunteer Mark Moore traveled to the northwest region of the Dominican Republic to provide hands-on training to banana producers on the development and implementation of apiculture projects for honey production. During the process, he developed a guide to help beekeepers address the specific challenges of keeping bees year-round. Here are some highlights from his guide: December - February During the winter months, Mr. Moore suggests the trick is to keep bees in a state of production so they are ready to make honey as early as possible. He also said to build entrance reducers to not only help keep the hive warm, but to prevent neighboring bees from robbing the hive. Mr. Moore ecxplains that as colonies get weak in the winter, stronger neighbors sometimes take advantage of other hives. M

Every now and then, we like to feature members of our team from around the world on our blog. Below is a short interview with Abraham Jarquin, one of our outstanding field officers in Guatemala, who talks about the role of being a field officer for the Farmer-to-Farmer program. How long have you been working for the Farmer-to-Farmer program? Inicie a trabajar con Farmer-to-Farmer, el 1ro de junio del 2014, a la fecha tengo casi 3 años trabajando.  I started to work with Farmer-to-Farmer on June 1, 2014. Today, I have almost three years of working for the program.  Abraham with field officer, Andrea, at a goat center in Nebaj What is your background and what drew you to work for the Farmer-to-Farmer program? Soy ingeniero agronomo, cuento con 2 maestrias; maestria en estadistica avanzada y maestria en manejo de empresas agricolas. Inicie a trabajar en este program por que me parecio una buena oportunidad para poder aprender y desarrollar nuevas tecnicas.

Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers aren’t always farmers or agricultural specialists. Often, some of the host organizations we work with ask for specialists in areas such as business development or marketing. This is the case of Bryce Malsbary’s most recent assignment to Haiti. In October 2016, Mr. Malsbary traveled to Haiti to assist ATD and CACEMUD, two coffee cooperatives, to develop a business plan and identify organizational goals and strategies they felt important to pursue. Mr. Malsbary has over 36 years of experience in Human Resource Management and serves as an international business consultant. He is a Farmer-to-Farmer veteran, having completed over 25 international assignments that have focused on improving business operations of agricultural cooperatives, developing best practices in board and management operations, strategic planning, and conflict resolution. See more information on Mr. Malsbary’s most recent F2F assignment below. Adapted from the trip report of Bryce Malsbary

Partners of the Americas has been implementing the Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program for over 25 years, making it one of our longest standing programs in the history of our organization. There are several organizations that manage the F2F program throughout the world. Historically, Partners has been in charge of the F2F program in Latin America and the Caribbean. Here are some other fun facts about our program: 1. We have completed over 283 volunteer assignments During this funding cycle (October 2013 - September 2018), we have recruited for and filled over 283 volunteer assignments to our four core countries and eight Flex countries. Our goal is to fill 540 assignments by the end of the program. F2F volunteer Bill Nichols in the Dominican Republic 2. We work with 139 host organizations throughout Latin America Host organizations are cooperatives, associations, farmers groups, small businesses, public and private education institutions, public sector agencies, and individu

We are #38! Thank you Feedspot.com for ranking Partners of the Americas' "Cultivating Change: Agriculture and Food Security Blog" as one of the top 50 Agriculture Blog Winners!

F2F volunteer, Erin Menzies, with Gustavo Gandini, Technical Director of Banelino Partners of the Americas’ Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program has been supporting Banelino ( Asociación de Bananos Ecológicos de la Línea Noroeste or the Association of Organic Bananas of the Northwest Line) since 2014.  Banelino is a banana association comprised of over 300 small producers, the majority of which produce organic bananas. Their bananas are sold across Europe. In addition to supporting small producers in the Yaque del Norte region, Banelino offers a wide array of services for their producers and families. For example, Banelino has a small health center at their headquarters that provides healthcare and health education for members. They also have a small library open for use by producers interested in learning how to become organic or for organic producers interested in learning how to improve their current practices or production. Banelino is dedicated to the economic and social developm

By: José Cano,  Guatemala Farmer-to-Farmer Country Coordinator As Partners reaches the halfway point of its 2013-2018 Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program, our staff are reviewing and analyzing program data and reflecting on the program so far. Below, José Cano, the Country Coordinator for the Guatemala F2F program, shares highlights and information on what the program has been able to accomplish so far in Guatemala. F2F Country Coordinator, José Cano, presenting the F2F program to a women's group To keep advancing Guatemala´s development we have to answer three basic questions: 1) What do we have? 2) What do we want? and 3) How do we accomplish the results we want to see? The Farmer-to-Farmer program is playing an important role in strengthening rural development in Guatemala by upgrading capacity building, supporting rural value chains with high potential for impact, focusing on gender, and facilitating strategic alliances with public, academic, private, and international coo

Digital Marketing is one way that entrepreneurs and producers across the globe can reach new markets and increase sales. But what is digital marketing and how can a small Colombian business use it to maximize the number of people who come across its brand? These are the questions that Zen Naturals was asking itself. Zen Naturals is a natural cosmetic manufacturing company based in Cali, Colombia. Zen Naturals develops natural cosmetics made from exotic ingredients from Colombia’s outstanding biodiversity. Through ethical manufacturing and fair trade practices, they are also taking a leadership role in re-investing in the communities that grow the ingredients used in their products. Currently, Zen Naturals supports more than 95 Colombian quinoa farming communities through Fair-Trade Practices and technical assistance on their production. Zen Naturals is preparing to launch their quinoa facial care products in Whole Foods Markets in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. in 2017.