Our May volunteer of the month is apiculture expert Ed Levi, who has volunteered with Winrock’s Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program since 1995. Twenty years and 10 countries later, Ed continues to show his dedication to helping those in need around the world.

Over the years, Ed has introduced improved beekeeping technologies and techniques to farmers in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Ethiopia, and Guinea; provided training on honey processing and marketing in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan; and demonstrated ways to produce new products from hive by-products in Nigeria, in addition to numerous other volunteer assignments.

Ed (right) and trainees in Nigeria

Ed is sure that he gains just as much from each assignment as his beneficiaries do. “It has been fun learning how to adapt to different challenges. Even though I am going over there to teach, I always learn,” he asserts.

On his latest volunteer assignment in Senegal, Ed conducted training of trainers on all aspects of beekeeping, to help the International Center for Practical Training improve their support to beekeepers. Ed describes this volunteer trip as being particularly memorable, in part because he was able to lodge at a remote school/compound, where he witnessed a strong sense of community and commitment to collective action. “It was really, really special; it was a neat place,” he explains. “There were hugs and tears when I left.”

Inspecting beekeeping practices in Senegal

Ed is humble about his contributions, noting, “When I started beekeeping I never thought it would lead to one of my passions, travelling. I feel so very privileged to do what I do, meet the people that I meet, and hopefully make a difference. As a volunteer with Farmer-to-Farmer, the most important thing for me is to hear that my hosts have made progress.”

He has, indeed, made a difference. In Nepal, for example, individuals that attended Ed’s training more than a decade ago still speak fondly of their training. One beekeeper recently noted,

“The training opened my eyes to beekeeping as a business, and as a result, I increased my business from two to 60 hives. Everything I have gained in my honeybee business is due to the contributions of Ed Levi!“

Another former trainee asserts, “Now we are producing antibiotic free honey, and all the credit goes to volunteer Ed Levi’s training!”

In his 20 years of volunteer service with Winrock and Farmer-to-Farmer, Ed has directly assisted over 1,400 individuals. Not many people can say they have done that!

[Thank you, Ed, for all that you have done for your Farmer-to-Farmer hosts and beneficiaries!]

Today’s blog post comes from Winrock staff Gelsey Bennett, reflecting on the Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program and how it has impacted her career:

“Although I just recently started working for Winrock International’s Volunteer Technical Assistance team supporting the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer for Agriculture Education and Training program, my first experience with F2F took place seven years ago. This has been one of the pivotal moments in my career, helping me understand the power of volunteerism and people-to-people exchanges.

In 2008, I helped write the Central Asia Farmer-to-Farmer Program final report. I visited Kyrgyzstan, where I interviewed farmers about how the F2F  program benefited their production, incomes, and livelihoods. My experience with a group of women farmers was particularly outstanding and demonstrated to me personally the valuable impact of the Farmer-to-Farmer program. Ms. Yuldasheva Muborak told me about the technical assistance that she and other women farmers received in improved cherry tree pruning and growing techniques. As a result of this training, she became a cherry tree pruning trainer in her community and helped other farmers apply these techniques.  She informed me that her income had increased as a result of the effect of the improved pruning techniques on her production. Ms. Muborak and a group of women farmers recognized the important of investing in their businesses and used the additional income to purchase a truck to take the cherries to market directly and decrease reliance on middlemen.

By talking to Farmer-to-Farmer beneficiaries, I came to understand the power of this program: not only do beneficiaries learn skills to make their businesses more successful, but they ultimately sustain their improved livelihoods by investing in their business and imparting new skills to others in their communities. This is possible thanks to the generosity of our volunteers and their commitment to help farmers around the globe. Through Farmer-to-Farmer, volunteers have been helping to harnesses meaningful change in the lives the beneficiaries and their communities for 30 years!”

–Gelsey