Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

From dairy cattle and bees to extension education and product development, Partners' Farmer to Farmer Program currently has several open volunteer opportunities in Nicaragua, Haiti, Guyana, and the Dominican Republic. The program covers costs for transportation, lodging, meals and other travel-related costs. Volunteers for Nicaragua and the DR will ideally have some proficiency in Spanish. Contact us today if you have any questions! In the words of recent FTF volunteers: "I look forward to hearing from the friends I made in Guyana whether the message is of a technical nature or just a hello. My Farmer to Farmer experience was a positive one due to the friendship shown to me by Shaun Francis, Kelvin Craig as well as every Ministry of Agriculture official and grower I met." - Dan Egel, Guyana "My volunteer assignment was a rewarding personal experience. Rafael and Juan were very accommodating and handled any issues that came up." -Rhett Farrell, FTF DR...

Benito and "Little Benito" As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." But this picture represents much more than words to this little boy and to the staff and volunteers of Partners' Farmer to Farmer Program. In this photo, pictured are Benito Jasmin, FTF Haiti Country Coordinator, and the child of one of the farmers who receives training through the Farmer to Farmer Program in Haiti. The boy's school fees are paid with the income his family receives from raising rabbits. So what is that worth? In Benito's words, his whole life depends on it. In Haiti, the vast majority of schools (around 92%) are private and children cannot go to school unless they pay the required fees. With the poverty that is so rampant in Haiti, this means that nearly the majority of children are not enrolled in school. As written in a July 2010 report from the US Institute of Peace ,  "According to the 2002–03 education census cited by the World Bank...

Farmer to Farmer volunteers, Cheryl and Lauren, continue to work hard to put together a video clip that promotes the consumption of local dairy products and educates the audience on nutrition. The volunteers are interviewing farmers, dairy cooperative managers, school teachers and others to truly capture the local situation and best attract the viewers. Meanwhile, another Farmer to Farmer volunteer, Kshinte continues to visit schools and support the "Si a la Leche" campaign with educational games and promotional activities. Please see below the volunteers "in action" photos. Lauren, Cheryl and Daniel (FTF field officer) edit through the videos to put together a great promotional piece. Thanks to the volunteers for their filming and editing equipment! Kshinte and the Director of the Solingalpa School in Matalgalpa work together to support the dairy campaign and educate the students on nutrition. 

Kshinte teaches children about nutrition in milk Earlier this week, two volunteers traveled from Wisconsin to Nicaragua to fill a "non-traditional" Farmer to Farmer assignment: video production. They are collaborating with another volunteer focusing on nutrition. In case you're wondering what video production has to do with farming, read on. Even though Nicaragua is the country in the region of Central America with the most exports of dairy products, generally has the biggest cattle, and the most land potential to raise cattle, it is still the country that consumes the least amount of dairy products. According to official information the annual local consumption of milk is 75 liters/person in contrast to 220 liters/person in Costa Rica. In the urban and rural sectors of Nicaragua there has been a decrease in the consumption of dairy products. Nicaraguans have changed their habits and now consume more sodas which do not have the same nutritional qualities as dairy ...

Identifying forage for rabbits in Dourmond Partners of the Americas' small animal project in Haiti is growing rapidly, and many communities in Central and Southern Haiti now have the beginnings of a successful micro-enterprise. Below is the example of Dourmond, one of the most recent communities to receive rabbits. I expect that it won't be long before we begin hearing their stories as we do in other communities, where Haitians young and old are able to pay for their education through their profits from rabbit production. I hope to share some of those stories in later posts. New rabbit cages arrive Even though rabbits may "breed like rabbits," a new project takes time and strategic thought. The project in Dourmond began in January 2009 with a feasibility study conducted by three individuals who are, collectively, leaders in Partners' Haiti Farmer to Farmer Program, Makouti Agro Enterprise, Devils Gulch Educational Services , and the Patricia Sullivan...

In July, Farmer to Farmer Volunteer Joshua Tubbs traveled to Ecuador to appraise animal production practices and assist veterinarians and producer groups in improving their long-term production, mainly for beef and dairy cattle. His trip was carried out in collaboration with the Kentucky and Ecuador Partners of the Americas Chapters, who implement an "Ecuador Highlands and Amazon Livestock Improvement Project" with Western Kentucky University. While in Ecuador, Mr. Tubbs traveled to the Tungurahua province and El Chaco, a county in the Amazonian region of Ecuador. He traveled with the Mobile Veterinary Unit to de-worm and give vitamin shots to those farmers who requested the veterinary service. One day he and his Ecuadorian counterparts treated around 70 animals for some 35 farmers of which 1/3 were female. He also gave several seminars in topics ranging from grazing systems to biocontrol to U.S. Livestock Handling Guidelines for organic production. Mr. Tubbs was also su...

Farmer to Farmer volunteers Geoff Benson and John Rushing pose with the owners and some employees of the Lacteos Nicarao Cooperativa in Rivas. At this processing facility they make traditional cheeses from local milk. Farmer to Farmer volunteers, Geoff Benson and John Rushing traveled to Nicaragua in August to provide support to the dairy industry. Often times FTF volunteers have complimentary skills and qualifications so they travel in teams and work together. In this case, Geoff Benson, an agricultural economist and marketing specialist and John Rushing, a food safety specialist, were able to provide assistance to dairy cooperatives and processing plants in an integrated approach. Inevitably, the limitations of the processing equipment and the product quality effects a businesses ability to enter markets and increase sales. Dr. Benson and Dr. Rushing provided recommendations and gave trainings in business planning, marketing techniques, food processing and food safety. Chees...

A view of shaded and well-kept rabbitries. Farmer to Farmer volunteer, Robert Spencer, takes a moment to pose with some rabbits and their owners during his recent meat quality assignment in Haiti. Rabbit farming is an income generating activity and contributes to local food security. Rabbit meat is a healthy white meat that is low in cholesterol and has a high percentage of protein. Farmer to Farmer volunteers are supporting the rabbitries with assistance in rabbit nutrition and health, meat quality and business planning and sales.  

This photo shows the three most successful rabbit producers in Grand Boulage, Haiti. They are proudly showing their new record books that they are using to keep track of their rabbits’ breeding, fertility and mortality rates, and other important information to make sure that rabbits are produced in a way that maintains healthy animals and also produces the best offspring. On the left is Madame Andremene, the most successful producer. She did experience a significant setback recently, having lost around 83 offspring to what was later determined to be a diet that was not well balanced after consulting with FTF volunteers Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak, Brian Rude, and Steven Lukefahr. Now she has adjusted the diets, especially of the young rabbits, to include avocados and other foods high in energy and protein. She is more determined than ever. In the middle is Mr. “Racine” Cadeau, and pictured below is one of his prize male rabbits in a new rabbitry structure supplied through small grant ...

New!  Buy your Farmer to Farmer Program T-shirt for just $15! Shirts are 100% Cotton and come in sizes M, L, XL and XXL.  Price includes shipping and handling (in the US; international shipping may be extra).  Email jkalsmith@partners.net for more information and to order your shirt today!