Field Officer Highlight: Abraham Jarquin

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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.

I'm an agricultural engineer with two Master's Degrees: a Master's in Advanced Statistics and a Master's in Agro-Enterprise Management. I started to work for this program because it seemed like a good opportunity to be able to learn and develop new skills.

What do you enjoy most about working for the Farmer-to-Farmer program?


Sin duda lo que mas disfruto de trabajar en este programa, es la oportunidad de poder conocer gente de distintos estados, con diferentes formas de pensar y ademas con diferentes experiencias. Aprendes mucho de cada uno de ellos.

Without a doubt what I enjoy the most about working for this program is the opportunity to be able to get to know people from different parts of the world, with different ways of thinking and different experiences. You learn a lot from every single one of them [F2F volunteers].

Abraham helping translate for F2F volunteer, Wayne Burleson (right)

How do you envision your country developing/changing over the years and what role do you want to play in that change?


Nuestro pais posee muchos problemas (salud, economia, narcotrafico, violencia entre otras), con el pasar de los años algunas de estas situaciones han ido mejorando y otras han ido empeorando. Con programas como Farmer-to-Farmer, estamos dando la oportunidad a los agricultores, pequeñas y medianas empresas de poder adquirir nuevo conocimiento y de esta manera poder avanzar y crecer. Todo esto contribuira en la generacion de mas empleo y mayores ganancias. 

Our country has many problems (health, the economy, drug trafficking, violence, and others). As years have passed, some of these situations have been improving and others have been getting worse. With programs like Farmer-to-Farmer, we are giving opportunities to farmers and small and medium businesses to be able to gain new knowledge in order to advance and grow. This all contributes to the generation of more employment and better gains.

What changes have you seen among the host organizations you work with due to the Farmer-to-Farmer program?


A lo largo de estos casi 3 años, hemos podido observar como algunas organizaciones han logrado crecer como empresa, adquiriendo nuevos conocimientos, generando empleo, adquiriendo mejores resultados de rendimiento y de ganancia economica. 


During these last three years, we have been able to see how some organizations have been able to grow as a company, gaining new knowledge, generating employment, and showing improved performance results and economic gains.

José Cano the F2F Country Coordinator (middle) with field
officers, Andrea Fión (left) and Abraham Jarquin (right)

Why are field officers important to the success of the Farmer-to-Farmer program?

La importancia de los oficiales de campo en el programa se puede resumir de la siguiente manera:

El oficial de campo es el intermediario entre las organizaciones y los voluntarios. Siempre estamos en constante comunicacion con ambas partes, apoyando en el sitio de trabajo, traduciendo documentos para que las organizaciones puedan entender en su idioma nativo, y apoyando en la logistica de cada asignacion. 

The importance of field officers in the program can be summarized in the following manner:

The field officer is the intermediary between the organizations and the volunteers. We are always in constant communication with both parties, providing support at the work site, translating documents so the organizations can understand them in their native language, and supporting the logistics of each assignment.

Abraham trying some rabbit meat after an F2F volunteer completed
her nutrition and cooking workshop

How has the Farmer-to-Farmer program fulfilled your personal or professional goals?

Ha sido una experiencia fantastica, poder conocer y trabajar junto a personas altamente capacitadas y profesionales, en el que dia a dia uno aprende nuevas herramientas y conocimientos.

It has been a fantastic experience to be able to get to know and work with people with so much knowledge and professionalism. You learn new tools and knowledge every day.

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