We are a few months into the newest cycle of Farmer-to-Farmer, a program that along with our skilled volunteers, could not be accomplished without the hard work of those in the field. Over the next few months, we will introduce you to some of the amazing people that help make the volunteer’s assignment run so smoothly. The below is translated from French. 

My name is Mamadou Bailo Diallo, I am a Winrock – International, F2F-Guinea, driver. I was born in 1981 in the Mali prefecture, in the Republic of Guinea, Conakry, I’m married and the father of two (2) children, one of which is a daughter.

Among the key tasks I perform are:

• Maintenance of the vehicle so it always in good condition;
• Plan the maintenance and/or periodic repairs;
• Ensure the project staff transportation;
• Update the logbook and drive  professionally;
• Take pictures on assignments
• Perform any other tasks assigned to me.

I have driven for Winrock since December 15, 2015. Before that, I drove for the African Training Center for Development.

Following studies at the National School of Breeding of TOLO – Mamou between 2004-2006, I got a diploma for a technical officer for livestock. I then graduated with a degree of a technician (BTS) at the National School of Agriculture and Breeding of Koba/Boffa in 2013.

My Hobbies include reading, traveling, watching TV, walking, going to movies and playing sports.

The reasons that have motivated me to apply and work with F2F of Winrock in Guinea are many and varied:

• The importance of this program is crucial in the development of our communities through farmers (associations, groups, unions, and federations) and particularly that of the development of our agricultural including the educational institutions that I graduated from; My work with this program funded by USAID, and accomplished through technical assistance from American volunteers has allowed me to gain enormous experience at all levels and makes me very useful to the rest of the members of the communities in which I live. I stay grateful to the American taxpayer for its help to the development of my country;
• My regular contact with volunteers has allowed me to improve how I express myself in English, and by maintaining exchanges with the volunteers on many topics, also get familiar with American culture;
• Within the team Farmer-to-Farmer Winrock-Guinea, we cultivate team spirit and the respect for the principles and values that everyone maintains

The most interesting moments for me doing this work:  When I get to share information with the Country Director on the ongoing operation of the program and when he asks everyone to give their opinion on the progress of implemented activities and to propose planning items for future programs.

A few special times I have had with volunteers include, among many, the field visits and tourist attractions. I once talked to Drs. McKim and Sorensen, who worked on institutional assessment and plan for Center for Post Primary Professional Training of Macenta while we were walking through Ziama’s forest looking for elephants.

I have gained much experience in being able to participate in several trainings. For example:

• On Gender and Equity with Madame Annais, which had a follow-up conference at the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Dalaba.
• On Phytosanitary products and their use with Dr. Damisi in Kankan
• And most recently, on my training with U.GAS with Dr. Diop about associated crops cultures and composting techniques.

Ibro Diallo gives an interview during the F2F for AET Learning workshop

Ibro Diallo started working at Winrock International in October 2013. He has a master’s degree in communication and journalism and is currently finishing up a master’s in Environmental Science. Before coming to work with F2F, Ibro worked 10 years for several NGOs including CLUSA, Aide et Action, IFES, and RTI. On the weekends, Ibro teaches communication for development at the Institute of Information and Communication Science. 

This magnificent program, Farmer-to-Farmer continuously offers me opportunities to learn, improve my skills and meet new people.

My Colleagues at Winrock have strengthened me in the teamwork and team management. Their examples of leadership and management as supervisors, allowed me to grow into managing my team in order to achieve Farmer-to-Farmer program objectives. They never behaved as superiors but rather as colleagues and with an attitude of winning together. Pictured above is my great Director DeAnn and my fellow Country Directors from F2F for AET and Asia.

Edie showing the orange tree she planted in Ibro’s village

Mrs. Edie Shannon, as an experienced and talented volunteer, agreed to come twice to Guinea, in 2014 and 2015, during the period of the Ebola outbreak while our neighbors were closing their borders. Edie did a great job with the Farmers Union of Soumbalako Farmers Associations of Mamou, on organizational development. She also helped to set up the Guinean Agriculture Institutes Network (GAIN), the unique space of exchange of actors of the agricultural training in Guinea to strengthen their management capacity. She even visited my village, where she planted some fruit trees.

Anais in a conference at the Vet school

Mrs. Anaïs Troadec, or as she is known in Guinea: Grandmother Anais, has a limitless passion for her job as a volunteer. She helped Institutes of Agronomic Education of Guinea (ENAEs, ISAV-F and ISSMV-Dalaba) to take head-on, the issue of gender in the country educational system. On two occasions she facilitated conferences and debates with students of the Institute of Veterinary & Medical Science of Dalaba on the issue of gender and sexual harassment. These conferences helped to liberate speech at the girl’s level on issues of sexual harassment. The Institute’s management has set up a Gender Committee to raise awareness and combat sexual harassment within the campus, support the girls by allowing make-up courses and organizing cultural and sports activities. Anais’s assignments are practical and adapted to the context and African realities. Anaïs has developed friendships with my field office staff and the team of F2F in Mali. We even celebrated her 72^nd anniversary in Bamako in December 2017.

Dr. Kovach, interns from ENAE-Bordo and FUMA field agents pause with pride after constructing and installing one of teh first bucket drip irrigation systems in Salamani, Kankan

Mr. Steven Kovach, Prior his retirement, Steven served as Agricultural Water Advisor with USAID. With his more than 30 years of experience in irrigation and water use for agriculture in the US and abroad, Steven, completed 2 assignments on drip irrigation and water management with, Farmers Federation of Upper Guinea (FUMA) and UGAS. Steven was able to connect with the trainees and easily transfer drip irrigation technology to farmers that have never witnessed this type of water management technology before. To many it was miracle-like to see drips of water coming from the hoses. Most students and professors have learned about the theory of drip irrigation system in a classroom but it was the first time that anyone has actually had hands-on training and participated in the assembly and set up of a drip irrigation system. After, his assignments, Steven has continued to follow-up with his trainees.

Mary and Bob during their first assignment in Guinea

The couple, Mary and Bob Albrecht, these dedicated volunteers were remarkable. Mary and Bob demonstrated strong knowledge in poultry enterprise creation and management. They have a good approach in the training of trainers. They were very creative and adapt quickly. They developed a manual that would assist trainers to assist farmers in their localities, they provided information on business planning and poultry nutrition. Though sadly Bob passed away in 2017, Mrs. Mary Albrecht has continued her dedication to volunteering in Guinea, returning for other assignments.

I always said that I have been so lucky with the American people, I have studied with their money because my father worked for US Embassy. Since 1997, I have worked for USAID funded projects and I will continue to work for this nice Farmer-to-Farmer program to mobilize huge resource and to deepen my learning experience and put it at the service of my nice country, Guinea. With the motivation and commitment of my team, we will achieve the new Farmer-to-Farmer west Africa Program goals.

F2F Team in 2017: (L-R) Bailo, Ousmane, Mory, Fatima, Ibro, Soule, Adama, Sylla

In May of 2018, I was very fortunate to be selected by Winrock International to lead a GIS and GPS workshop in the Republic of Guinea in West Africa.  Below are excerpts from my journal I kept during the two weeks I was in-country:

Flying into Conakry

I flew into hot and steamy Conakry, the capital of Guinea, located on the Atlantic coast, and about 1000km (660miles) north of the equator.  Almost 2 million people live in Conakry, which is located on a peninsula, and there are apparently only a couple main highways so the traffic is unbelievable.  I only saw a few traffic lights – cars, motorcycles, and scooters navigate by constantly changing lanes, zipping in and out, cutting off other drivers, nearly continuously honking their horns.  There seems to be no limit as to how many people a moving vehicle can carry.  Cars and vans are packed full, usually with people standing on the back bumper or riding on top, casually holding on while they speed along, even at high speeds.  I saw as many as 5 adults on a single motorcycle, and many times I saw two women and their children taking a single motorcycle taxi.

The first day I have orientation at the Winrock Headquarters.  Everyone is very cordial and smiles kindly at my awkward, slow French (the national language).  Winrock staff spend time with me so that I am comfortable with what to expect for accommodations and cultural norms.  We had something like yogurt mixed with ground corn for lunch.  Add sugar to taste – it was quite good – then we had out of this world fresh pineapple.

Bailo, F2F Guinea’s driver

My assignment location is actually in the city of Mamou, about 250km inland from Conakry.  Winrock has provided a driver, Baillo, and a second escort, Souleymane.  Both are warm, wonderful people, who help me with my French and patiently answer my constant questions with smiles, and sometimes amusement.  I am very lucky to be accompanied by two fun, fabulous people.  (In retrospect, I cannot say enough about these two great guys.  Back in the States, I do miss them and their warm smiles and easy laughter).

Alpha Souleymane Balde, F2F Guinea’s Logistician

The only road to Mamou is a bit crowded with very slow moving, large trucks, and no real traffic rules or speed limits.  So we had an exciting ride and I took pictures of the landscape.  Parts of the drive showed me quite beautiful vistas, large trees (including huge mango trees), as we climbed in elevation.  Other areas were clear-cut of all trees and showed nothing but tree stumps and very little vegetation.  We also passed through villages and many dozens of people selling goods along the busy road.  Sheep, goats, cattle, and chickens roam freely along the roadside and in the towns.  Apparently, there are virtually no natural predators, and I think probably very little wildlife at all, in this part of Guinea.

The next day Baillo, Souley, and I head out to the forestry school, Ecole Nationale des Agents Techniques des Eaux et Forets (ENATEF).  I met my highly skilled and experienced interpreter, Damba -who helped me in so many ways besides simply translating my English into French.  Besides explaining Guinean culture and customs, Damba provided many useful suggestions throughout the workshop, as well as encouragement and always maintaining his sense of humor even after a long day in a hot classroom.  He was wonderful.

Teaching the class how to increase accuracy in GIS and GPS

ENATEF has a small campus surrounded by large trees, many of which were flowering or heavy with guava or mangos.  There are also many more birds than I had seen or heard anywhere else. One I think is a sunbird – a beautiful bright blue-green active individual drinking nectar from flowers, and another I later identified as a pied crow.  There are several buildings with classrooms and offices, a nursery with native plants, and houses (where I assume some staff lives with their families).

There were almost 20 workshop participants – students, instructors, and technicians.  The school wanted to train staff so that they, in turn, could train others and incorporate GIS and GPS into their classrooms.  (I have now learned that this Training of Trainers, or TOT, is a common, very efficient and successful strategy used by Winrock).

This first day of training passed in a blur.  Lots of time taken for introductions, speeches by the school and regional directors.  I could immediately tell that the participants are very, very serious about learning.  The participants set some ground rules, such as turning off cell phones – and people were teased good-naturedly the few times that a cell phone did go off.  Eventually, we launched into the actual workshop.  It was a bit chaotic because of the different languages, but we managed and had a few good laughs at the literal vs. figurative translations between English and French.

On the second day, the participants were given a GPS (lent by another organization) to use and they were like little kids with brand new toys – impatient and excited to get outside and start collecting GPS data.  Finally, they were allowed to go outside and collect data, then came back to download and process.

The other days passed quickly.  By the last day of the workshop, most of the students were no longer shy around me and there were lots of smiles and easy conversation.  The regional director of schools and the director of ENATEF both gave speeches and then we all handed out certificates of completion.  “Merci” was probably said 1000 times in just a few hours.  Each student wanted a picture with both directors and me (I was really quite honored).  The school wanted to give me a gift and requested that I choose something from a local vendor who would often sell his wares in the school parking lot.  I returned to my hotel with two beautiful clothes made in Guinea, completely overwhelmed and touched by the kindness and generosity of my gift from the school.

Then the next day it is back to Conakry, to complete a final report.  Also trying hard to find something uniquely “Guinean” for gifts, but at the markets, local products are almost entirely fruit (bananas, pineapple, mango, avocado), meat, or fresh-baked, delicious bread (my breakfast each day).  Most of the manufactured items in the markets are made in China.  Eventually, Souley triumphed and helped me locate a couple of gifts.  (My young nephews went crazy when I gave them football outfits that say “Guinean football”).  On Sunday I have to say goodbye to my new friends, Souley and Baillo, and then I fly back to the States.

This trip was a wonderful experience for me – besides learning a lot, it was so satisfying and fulfilling, and just a whole lot of fun.  I always smile when I think of Souley and Baillo and the people at ENATEF.  I hope I will have more opportunities like this, in the future.

Family Photo with the students of Ecole Nationale des Agents Techniques des Eaux et Forets (ENATEF)

My assignment was a five-day training for extension agents on the safe use of pesticides and integrated pest management strategies for mitigating pests of horticultural crops. Initially, my assignment was to take place in the Kindia region but was relocated to Conakry to accommodate beneficiaries experiencing budget changes. Because of the last-minute change, I was told to only expect 10 participants at most. Over 30 people came on the first day. The training was initially located in the Department of Agriculture but was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture on the day the training was to begin. After setting up in the conference room in our new location, we were told that the room had already been scheduled and we would have to move again; furthermore, the Minister of Agriculture wanted to meet with us before we began. So, first international volunteer experience, 3 location changes, over 30 participants instead of 10, I am now meeting with the Minister of Agriculture for the entire country, and I know zero French—welcome to Guinea, this is your itinerary for the next two weeks.

Though I felt my career as an extension agent had prepared me for a new level of flexibility, nothing could have put that to the test quite like my time in Guinea. Working with a translator for the first time was also a new experience and presented its own set of challenges, forcing me to slow down and to really think about what I was saying so that it could be translated and still have the same impact for the participants. There were a lot of times when I had absolutely no idea what was going on, though this was due in large part to the language barrier. That said, my translator, Ousmane, was amazing and extraordinarily patient with both myself and the participants and I am deeply grateful to have met and worked with him. I also have come to better appreciate the basic conditions we often take for granted in the U.S., like being able to rely on electricity, having access to affordable products that keep us safe from pesticides, or having safe, clean food and water.

Personally, I appreciated many things about Guinea, not least of which were the people. Observing day-to-day life in Guinea was at times difficult, at times frustrating, many times full of joy and hope, but it was always humbling. The thing that stands out most, the thing I cannot shake from my mind; it is the extraordinary resilience and determination of the people who live and work in Guinea, who have an enthusiastic approach to overcoming so many challenges that we cannot even begin to process here in the U.S.

My time in Guinea has given me so much more, I believe, than I was able to provide to the participants of the training. I have seen first-hand the differences between the United States and Guinea, but also the similarities of our people, including the shared desire to make each of our countries a better place for farmers and their families. Professionally, it has broadened my capacity to teach under ever-changing environments. It was challenging, but also very rewarding and I believe it has equipped me a new set of skills that I can use in my educational programs at home.

Personally, I am awestruck by the capacity of extension agents to perform their jobs with so little available resources. Communication, for example, cannot rely on internet and e-mail or cell phones. It must be more purposeful and as a result, more personal, with whomever they are speaking. This I will also take with me as I continue to build working relationships with my clientele in North Carolina.

I am deeply humbled to have been a firsthand witness to the passion that extension professionals in Guinea have for improving the lives of farmers and their families and I hope one day that I am fortunate enough to return. Maybe by then, my French will have improved.

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.