Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Mr. Rodriguez on-location in Guyana at CV Farms with  Kinaka Craig & F Valentine Mauricio G. Rodriguez, a U.S.-based private consultant, recently volunteered in Guyana as a  Farmer-to-Farmer  (F2F) Volunteer with  Partners of the Americas . His F2F assignment focused on assisting local small-scale produce farmers through postharvest management training. In Guyana, Mr. Rodriguez met with vegetable and herb producers who were experiencing significant crop and financial losses in postharvest transportation of their crops when shipping to  Georgetown  supermarkets. Noting the producers utilize  hydroponic technology  and  organic soil mixes  throughout the growth of the produce , he was then able to evaluate potential issues at the point of postharvest. After preliminary visits to different Georgetown supermarkets, he discovered the problem. From the point of harvest and to the supermarket , the crops were exposed to varying storage and outside temperatures. The produce

By Melanie Forstrom, Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Volunteer Being the first volunteer of a cycle gave me the exciting opportunity to contribute to and shape the youth involvement strategy for the following 5 years in the Dominican Republic. I was mainly stationed in Santo Domingo but had the opportunity to travel to Jarabacoa and Mao. There I saw and experienced organic strawberry and banana production, talked to young producers, and had rich conversations about protecting the basins of the Rio Yaque del Norte.   The main outcome of my assignment was creating a draft youth development strategy.  This was accomplished through research, surveys and meetings with host organizations and young producers. I produced a SWOT Analysis of each of the 3 organization partnering to incentivize youth agriculture in the Dominican Republic, as well as of the youth sector overall.  My assessment that a smaller scale mentoring program with each producer teaching 1-2 youth is the most viable path