I have participated in nearly 50 F2F Assignments in the past 22 years but this is my first visit to Bangladesh. The level of poverty, the small farms, the density of agricultural activities, and the tropical conditions were all that I expected and more. However, I was not prepared for the Bangladesh people. I found the people of the Satkhira region of southwest Bangladesh delightful. They were open, courteous, sharing, appreciative, diligent, and smart. I will look forward to a return visit in the future.

My assignment focused upon a 5-day training of small scale youth farmers in basic techniques for commercial vegetable seed production. Rice and jute are the primary cash crops of the region, but we focused upon tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, pumpkin, and gourd seed production. After reviewing basic plant biology, I covered seed production technology. The final day concluded with a field trip to a government-operated rice breeding project and foundation seed producer. Although on a much grander scale, participants were able to see basic processes, seed treatments, seed testing, and storage of agricultural seed in their home territory.

Dr. Williams shows the farmers the symptoms of insect attacks and prevalence of powdery mildew problems on cucumber leaves during a field visit

Dr. Williams shows another farmer the damage and color change on eggplant leaves due to an aphids’ attack

The conditions were not perfect. The electricity went on and went off and temperatures in the seminar room were sometimes hot, but no one complained. Participants came up to me many times and said how much they enjoyed the presentations and appreciated the information I was sharing with them. During the field visits, farmers showed enthusiasm for information and techniques in plant protection and cultivation.

The experience was truly humbling. I sincerely hope my efforts will help some of the Bangladeshi people to attain their goals and dreams.

Dr. Williams shows a group of farmers how to get rid of unwanted plants from any kind of orchard during a practical training session

Winrock’s August Volunteer of the Month is Ms. Erin Riley, a Rio Puerco Field Office Rangeland Management Specialist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Albuquerque, NM. Erin took a different kind of trip to do a volunteer assignment with Winrock International and USAID. Erin traveled to Zaria, Nigeria, for two weeks to assist in a farmer-to-farmer program teaching local teachers, researchers, and ranchers techniques in assessment, rangeland management monitoring, and agriculture pedagogy that can be used in developing countries. Erin commented, “Flying into Kaduna, Nigeria, the smoke was like a fog and the smell of charred earth wafted in the air”. The locals burn the fields to put nutrients back into the soil. She could see thatched roof huts in rural communities and herds of white Fulani cattle congregating under large acacia trees trying to keep cool as the airplane descended in its final approach.

In Zaria, numerous herdsmen move their cattle from Niger through Nigeria to other countries in Africa. This is a traditional migration following seasonal patterns of weather. It is done to avoid conflicts in the northeastern part of the country that causes local farmers’ crops to be sacrificed due to lack of fencing. Taking knowledge that she has learned from the BLM and explaining how the United States dealt with similar grazing issues in the 1930s was an amazing opportunity for Erin as well as the agriculture community in Zaria, Nigeria.

One of the highlights from Erin’s volunteer assignment was in Zaria was when she was talking and working with the women there. They were very interested in the differences in the USA such as it is cheaper to buy dresses already made than cloth and make your own and it was cheaper to buy drapes from the store than to make them. This was something that was difficult for them to comprehend.

Erin is hopeful that more opportunities will arise for BLM employees to share the wealth of knowledge they have, not only locally, but also to other countries through important outreach opportunities. Finding solutions to conflicts, ideas of how to sustain cattle in the dry season, and economic opportunities for agriculture professionals proved to be mutually beneficial in this instance.

We asked Erin to reflect on her experience as a first time Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer. She shares her thoughts below:

Why did you want to volunteer and why should people consider volunteering?

In 1999 I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Serving underserved communities is an important part of being a good global community member. The best part of volunteering is the personal growth you get from it. Sometimes you question if you really did any good or you were effective in your teaching. But if you ask yourself “did I learn anything from that experience that will make me a better citizen” most of the time the answer would be yes. You will never regret visiting this amazing place.

What made your Winrock volunteer trip distinctive? How do you feel about the support from Winrock, whether before, during or after your assignments?

The Winrock volunteer trip was distinctive to me because I have never traveled to a West African country before. The food, people, culture, landscape and most everything was very different, yet lots of things were similar. Winrock was AMAZING. From the time that I was selected for the position till the time I returned home and finished my end of assignment write up, the Winrock staff was exceptional. I would work with any of these people again.

How have your assignments made a difference in your own life? Has your assignment caused you to do anything differently once you returned?

This assignment has helped me to grow professionally. Currently, I have taken on extra assignments that deal with conflicts between cattle ranchers. This experience has given me the confidence that I can handle most any situations when dealing with difficulties at work and at home.

When your friends/family find out that your volunteer assignment aboard, what do they say or ask?

They were amazed at first. Then they wanted to know how the food was, what animals I saw, was it safe, what were people like, what was the living conditions like and many other questions. Many of my friends and family were unaware of what life was like in Nigeria as was I.

How do you feel that your volunteer assignment has contributed to creating a shared understanding across different cultures through person-to-person interactions?

This interaction has helped immensely with sharing cultures. I think both of us understood that we have more things in common than things that are different. We also were able to see people in real life and how kind, joyous and thoughtful we were. All in all, this experience was amazing and really brought out the humanity in humans and me.

In honor of International Youth Day, we would like to highlight an interesting and impactful youth-focused assignment completed in Nepal. Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer, Dr. Tiffany Drape, arrived in Ramechhap district in March 2016 to provide a training of trainers on youth facilitation and agriculture-based entrepreneurship development to staff and members of 4-H Nepal and the Youth Partnership for Development and Peace Nepal (YSP-Nepal). It is important to note that 4-H Nepal is the first registered 4-H organization in South Asia, and Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer training laid the groundwork for Nepali youth development professionals to create the national program. Therefore, I was excited about the opportunity to meet with Lok Raj Awasthi, President of 4-H Nepal, to discuss the organization, as well as to learn more about the impact of Dr. Drape’s training.

Mr. Awasthi explained the most important topics covered by Dr. Drape were business planning, profit and loss statements, sustainability, and communication skills. Many of the 4-H Nepal members already had their own agriculture businesses. However, he stated, “Farmers had no plan and didn’t keep records. But after the training many farmers are keeping records and now have a business strategy.” 4-H Nepal has since reached about 120 other national members with similar training on agricultural entrepreneurship development.

Dr. Drape’s training with 4-H Nepal members. (Lok Raj Awasthi is also featured standing at the front of the room).

Later, in July 2016, 4-H Nepal hosted its first Youth Agriculture Entrepreneurship Conference (article here: 4H Nepal youth entrepreneurship conference). One of the goals of this conference is to empower more youth to engage in the agriculture sector. The conference was attended by more than 200 young farmers and the Vice President of Nepal. It featured sessions focused on progressive agro-based enterprise practices, where Dr. Drape’s training materials were utilized. This is the type of ripple effect you hope to see for any F2F assignment, but it is even more exciting to hear that the training has reached many more youth and has furthered the working relationship with 4-H Nepal. Mr. Awasthi noted, “This type of youth conference is just a stepping stone towards a progressive future for Nepal’s agriculture sector. We hope that we are able to provide a platform where young entrepreneurs could form a network and help each other.” We at F2F are looking forward to seeing even more great work on youth agricultural entrepreneurship development implemented through 4-H Nepal and hope Dr. Drape’s training will continue to benefit youth that are looking to start or build their own businesses.

Dr. Drape distributing completion certificates to 4-H members following her training.

This week’s blog comes from F2F Volunteer, Dr. Malcom Manners, an expert in nursery management and tropical fruit propagation methods. He is a professor and Chairman of the Horticulture Department at Florida Southern College and has completed over 16 volunteer consulting trips around the world. 

In late May and early June, 2017, I worked on a Farmer-to-Farmer project with Winrock in the Mandalay area of Myanmar. I’ve worked on numerous other F2F projects, and several of them have involved mango. I have to say this was among the best projects with which I’ve ever been involved!

I flew to Yangon via Orlando, Seattle, and Seoul, arriving late in the evening. I was met at the airport by Winrock staff and taken directly to my hotel. I had a chance to rest the following morning, then meet with the in-country staff in the afternoon. There, we planned out the exact itinerary for the project. The next morning, we flew to Mandalay, where we met with a couple of lead farmers, to interview them about what they perceived to be their major challenges, and what they’d like to get out of the workshops. Their concerns were very similar to those listed in the scope of work, so I felt well-prepared.

Mango basket

The next day was the first of a two-day training. We really didn’t know how many people would attend — 40 had preregistered, but they thought more would show, perhaps as many as 60. But when the crowd started arriving, more and more came, until we had 150 attendees! We had to move the meeting out of the planned building into an outdoor area. That caused some concern, in case it rained, but it ended up okay. We spent that day talking about nursery production of mango trees — variety selection (for local vs. export markets), seedling production for grafting, grafting techniques, and care of the grafted plants until they are ready for the orchard. The group was particularly interested in grafting. Mango trees in Myanmar are mostly grown from seed, and seedling trees take several years to get into production, growing far too tall for convenient harvesting or spraying. A grafted tree can be kept much shorter and will bear its fruit closer to the ground, and in fewer years, than would a seedling. Also, grafting guarantees that the tree will produce exactly the variety of fruit that the grower wants. Compared to other fruit trees, mango is also rather picky about how you graft it, and many propagators consider it challenging, to get a good rate of success. So we spent a lot of time talking about the fine points of the procedure, and the crowd was on the edge of their seats, in rapt attention! As a college professor, I can only wish my regular students had such enthusiasm for and fascination with the topics we discuss! We ended the day with live demonstrations of the methods we had discussed. A local TV station made a video of the entire event, and I was interviewed by them during lunch time.

Dr. Manners demonstrating grafting techniques for mango trees (recorded my local media).

The following day, we had nearly as many people show up for training, so again we were in the outdoor site. This time we did get a bit of rain, but not enough to shut down the program. We discussed production in the orchard — planting trees, tree spacing, plant nutrition and fertilizer programs, pests and diseases and their management, appropriate irrigation practices, and pruning techniques for mango trees. Again, the crowd was totally engaged, and we had another great day!

Bagged fruit to protect against fruit fly infestation

We had originally planned to go to another town to do a similar training, but the hosts there were not able to meet with us, so we changed the schedule a bit to visit with some orange and tangerine growers in Shan State, which is in a higher-elevation area and has a cooler climate. We had a good visit there with a nurseryman, and again, discussed grafting methods for citrus, as well as characteristics of fruit varieties and rootstocks. We also visited some orchards for a discussion of production problems. This was really a discovery mission, with the idea of developing a future scope of work for the area.

From there it was back to Yangon to work on the final report. I’m delighted with the outcome of this project — I think the growers will soon be producing high-quality grafted trees, and within a few years, that will revolutionize their ability to produce a high-quality, high-yielding crop, fit for the export market as well as increased local sales. And that’s what it’s all about!

I found the Winrock staff in Myanmar to be great people to work with — always helpful and thoughtful, and who made sure things happened as they should. I really appreciated that partnership as well.

Dr. Tyson Sorenson of Utah State University and Dr. Aaron McKim of Michigan State University, recently completed their first-time Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer assignment in Guinea. After completion of their assignment, an institutional assessment, we asked each to share how the assignment affected them personally and professionally. Here’s what they had to say about their experience.

Dr. Tyson Sorenson –

This has been my first international work experience so I gained a great deal from this experience. First and foremost was the development of a positive network with Winrock International. They have been fantastic to work with. The experience working with Winrock has been exceptionally great, as they assisted in the logistics of this assignment and took care of the little details. Not only did I learn a great deal about how to get around in a foreign country (the little things a novice traveler may not know), but it has also allowed Aaron and I to be able to focus our efforts on the success of our assignment. With this relationship and network in place with Winrock, I can foresee more international assignments in the future.

This experience has been good for me professionally as it has also pushed me to be a better teacher. With the language barrier, I had to be very purposeful in word choice and exact in my language. I had to chunk into small pieces the directions I give. I teach pre-service teachers about the importance of chunking and clarity, but now I have a deeper appreciation for that pedagogical principle. Additionally, although I have participated in many institutional assessments and strategic planning activities, this was the first time I have conducted an assessment myself. With the differences in cultural norms, I learned that being flexible and adaptable to the needs of the participants is very important. Allowing them to be active participants and autonomous in their decisions regarding the strategic plan is important, even if it means altering the original plan for information gathering.

This has also been a good experience for me personally. I have learned a little about myself and the things I take for granted each day. These people have demonstrated to me how people can find happiness despite the circumstances in which they live. I have learned to be more grateful for basic amenities like warm shower water, electricity, and a law-based transportation system. I have gained a deeper appreciation for my wife and family through this experience. I saw the women and children of Guinea as such devoted and strong workers. They work so hard. The mothers carrying their children on their back, with heavy loads on their heads walking many miles to and from the fields and the market to earn a few bucks. Then they come home and do not rest, they prepare meals, cook meals, and take care of their children into the evening. As I reflect on this, I think about all that my wife does to take care of our home and I gained a deeper appreciation for her selfless service as a mother.

Aaron McKim –

From a professional perspective, this was my first international work; therefore, the experience developed new knowledge in how to balance American educational norms with the norms of the country visiting (e.g., managing cell phones during the training) as well as new strategies I would implement if asked to do another institutional assessment, training, and/or strategic plan (e.g., process for collecting information; requesting observations of the school during its typical operating schedule; specifically requesting budget, curriculum, mission, visions, goals beforehand). In addition to this new knowledge, I was also able to conduct a case study review of CAFPPP Macenta, which will be used to develop a manuscript for possible publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Finally, I developed contacts with Winrock employees in the United States and Guinea which I hope to use for future volunteer opportunities as well as contacts with teachers, administrators, and farmers affiliated with CAFPPP Macenta, which can be used for future collaborations (e.g., grant writing, professional development, research).

From a personal perspective, it is hard to articulate how this experience has impacted me. First, and foremost, is an appreciation for what I experience daily in the United States (e.g., traffic regulations, parking lots, warm food, hot showers, refrigeration, food safety, etc.). But, on a deeper level, this experience helped me prioritize things in life – which, for me, is a strategic balance between being there for my family, participating in high-leverage/high-impact professional work (e.g., working abroad), and achieving professional success (e.g., tenure). At the end of the day, this experience compels me to do future international work, trying out the new strategies I have envisioned from my reflections of this current experience.