Neelam Canto-Lugo was nominated by the Myanmar Farmer to Farmer team because she is excellent at highlighting personal capacity and demonstrating how to use, manage and improve it. She has opened the eyes of many trainees about how to prepare for the work place and is dedicated to training while doing it with pleasure. 

Country Director, Ai Kyaw, said: “She is not only a volunteer but also the capacity builder, developing countries need.”

Why did you want to volunteer? 

 I have always enjoyed volunteering. I live a comfortable life and have all my material needs met. There are many in our world who do not have that luxury. Material objects are essential but more important are knowledge and learning. These can transform lives and societies and benefit countless people. I wanted to share the knowledge I possessed to transform and empower others in my own community and around the world. Volunteering for Winrock’s Farmer-to Farmer gave me that opportunity for which I am very grateful.  

We come into this world to do more than make a living; volunteering (for me) is the way to do more. 

 What was the highlight of your most recent volunteer assignment abroad? 

 We conducted two three- day training sessions for members and representatives of Myanmar Livestock Federation (MLF) and Myanmar Flowers, Fruit, and Vegetable Producers and Exporters (MFVP). At the end of the soft skills training, I encouraged the participants an incentive to write effective grant proposals on food and water safety issues and offered $500 each for successful proposals. After just three days of training, fourteen participants submitted proposals.  That was amazing and incredibly rewarding. I was overwhelmed by the participants’ enthusiasm and motivation. I ended up providing four mini-grants instead of three as I had originally planned.  

 What made your Winrock volunteer trip distinctive? 

I was extremely impressed by the enthusiasm of the people who participated in my training. The participants were eager to learn and to put into practice the ideas I had shared with them. The highlight of my Myanmar assignment was the fact that I left Myanmar feeling that I had accomplished more than I had set out to do. I still get emails from my Myanmar students sharing with me the progress of projects that they started because of the training  

As a volunteer for Winrock, I have been rewarded with working with people whose dedication to the mission of Winrock is reflected in the ways they perform their tasks. I must emphasize that the Myanmar team made me feel like a member of their family.  I experienced true hospitality from the Farmer-to Farmer staff and the two hosts and they are now part of my global family. 

How does your experience affect your world view? 

My travel to Myanmar has re-confirmed my faith in the goodness of humankind. I realize that no matter what part of the world we inhabit, kindness, respect, and hospitality are universal values that can enrich our lives as they enriched mine.  In addition, I became aware that the process of teaching is also the process of learning; I gained more than I offered.  

 What advice would you give a new volunteer? 

 I will strongly suggest that a new volunteer must establish connections with his/her trainees.  Share new ideas with the trainees in a way that respects their culture and traditions.  

Be flexible because each culture has its own way of perceiving and interpreting ideas. The Winrock International staff and the country hosts treat you as close family members and look after your every need, so you need to relax and enjoy the tremendous opportunity to share your knowledge and skills with people around the world. 

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

 I focus much more on human relationships now than on objects. I constantly attempt to dispel misinformation and myths that we have about other countries.  I encourage my college students to develop and practice empathy, acceptance of others, kindness. Most importantly, I promote the spirit of volunteerism in them and provide them volunteer opportunities in my community. 

 Why should people consider volunteering? 

Volunteering allows people to become knowledgeable about other cultures and ways of life.  It forces you to evaluate and analyze your own values and beliefs.  A volunteer teaches, but she also learns about herself.  

How do you feel about the support from Winrock, whether before, during or after your assignments? 

From my first assignment over two years ago, the Winrock team in Arkansas and in the countries I have visited has been extraordinary.  They provide tremendous support to volunteers and maintain outstanding communication before, during, and after the completion of the assignments. The directors in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal phoned me a couple of times every day to ensure that everything was running smoothly.  Every detail, large and small is carefully managed. 

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

They want to know about the countries I visit and the people I meet and work with.   

They ask about the types of training I provide. And many wish to learn about  volunteering overseas.   

What do you do when you’re not volunteering? 

I teach Public Speaking and Intercultural Communications at Yuba College in California. Many years back, I developed a speakers’ series titled “Crossing Borders Building Bridges” for college students, faculty, and community members and I organize speakers and events when I am not volunteering. I am a Board member for various civic organizations like the Japanese American Citizens League, JACL, and the Foundation Board of Rotary International.  I am grandmother of two little girls, a 2- year old and a 10- month old and enjoy spending time with them. 

 Does anyone in your life play a role in supporting your involvement? In providing inspiration? 

 My parents inspired us when my siblings and I were growing up in India. They encouraged us to help take care of wounded soldiers returning from battles and babies whose families had been lost due to wars or poverty.   In addition, my junior high school in India had a Civics Day once a month where all students were required to participate in community service.  

 Do you keep in touch with your host organization?

 Yes, I am in constant touch with all my hosts. We communicate regularly by phone, email, or social media. I also conduct fundraisers for them as I did with my Nepal host, Women Development Advocacy Center, and Bangladesh host, Hunger Free World.  In July of this year, I provided voluntary Pedagogy and Curriculum Development training to my host, Dept. of Youth Development, Bangladesh.   

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

 I did not have much knowledge about some of the countries where I volunteered. However, in the process of teaching and interacting with the participants, I was able to share with them many positive ideas about my country.  Many of them didn’t know much about the USA other than what they saw on television. By our interactions during and after the assignment, they were able to get a different picture of America and Americans. On my part, I realized that like my students here, the participants were eager to learn new information and couldn’t wait to put it into practice. The country hosts as well as the Winrock teams in every country I visited had the exact same mission as I, social uplifting and economic empowerment of people.  

What keeps you going back to volunteer? 

 Volunteering gives me a tremendous sense of fulfilment. I have tremendously enjoyed and value the kindness and care shown by everyone I have met on my assignments. I have also gained lifelong friendships in all the places where I have volunteered.

Dr. Herring was nominated by the Myanmar team because of his ability to quickly absorb the local situation in the field and adapt those observations into an informative presentation and training. He got along well with all the farmers he met, was well prepared and focused on the work. “Dr. Herring’s assignment and shared information delighted the host and cattle farmers, it presented real opportunities in livestock export if they practice cattle farming systematically. It pointed out potential investment areas and possible collaboration between US and Myanmar” Ai Kyaw, Chief of Party, Myanmar. We asked Dr. Herring to reflect on his volunteer experience and the trip to Myanmar, his responses are below.

My Winrock volunteer assignment was to assess the Myanmar cattle industry and to make recommendations regarding potential improvements and developments as the industry there transitions from a draft-based cattle industry toward more organized beef production. I was in country from 1 to 13 January 2018, and my host was the Myanmar Livestock Federation (MLF).

Cattle market near Pyawbwe. These cattle are bred and used for draft purposes. the farmers prefer gray cattle to red cattle. All transactions at this market must be completed by noon.

1.Why did you want to volunteer?

I am interested in opportunities that expand my knowledge base, especially those that also help other people involved in animal agriculture, and particularly those involving cattle producers.

Successful cattle grower operation where the farmer purchases cattle for a specialized market and provides adequate feeding for improved cattle performance compared to typical cattle management in the region

2. What was the highlight of your most recent volunteer assignment abroad?

The most valuable resource in the world is people, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and interacting with people involved in the various aspects of livestock production in Myanmar, and experiencing their culture and friendship.

Dr. Herring and the owners of a successful dairy farm. They have 56 cows on 2.5 acres of land in a suburban area near Yangon. The owners had also organized a milk collection cooperative company.

3.What made your Winrock volunteer trip distinctive?

I had never been to Myanmar or this part of Asia. One of the most distinctive aspects of this trip was seeing the degree that farmers rely on their cattle for draft work and transportation, and to personally visit and contribute to one of the less developed countries of the world.

The Myanmar cattle industry is transitioning from traditional draft use to beef-emphasized production

4.How does your experience affect your worldview?

The first thing it does is reinforce my thoughts on how fortunate people in the USA and other developed countries are regarding our daily lives. Many in developed countries do not realize how little of our annual income we have to spend on food. In the USA, in particular, we also have many liberties that people in other countries do not have. The second thing it reinforces is how similar people all over the world are.

The gentleman is Zayar Chit Sein, and his meat market purchases and fabricates 3 beef
sides per day. He supplies some restaurants and hotels in Yangon.

5.What advice would you give a new volunteer?

1) Keep an open mind about seeing new cultures and circumstances; it will be a great learning experience. 2) the people you meet will be very appreciative of your choice to volunteer. 3) don’t be afraid to ask questions, and always have patience and politeness. 4) the only impression some people may ever have about the USA could come from their experiences with you.

Meeting between Dr. Herring, Winrock Farmer to Farmer, Myanmar Livestock Breeding, and the owner of a bull buyer operation interested in receiving information regarding nutrition and how to start a beef cow herd

6.Why should people consider volunteering?

It will be a tremendous learning experience, and it will be rewarding personally. Even if there is a day or two that you wonder why you agreed to volunteer, you will be glad you decided to do it.

The owner of “The Prime Rib” restaurant in Yangon, U Myint Thu, hosted Winrock F2F staff and volunteers. U
Myint Thu is a member of the Myanmar Livestock Federation and is committed to producing value-added
cattle and beef products.

7.How have your assignments made a difference in your own life?

I have become more motivated to help cattle producers whenever I can. I have also become more motivated to work with producers and industry groups in developing countries.

Dr. Herring gives an interview to a local TV station after a meeting between him, MLF officers and government officials.

8.How do you feel about the support from Winrock, whether before, during or after your assignments?

The support I had before the trip was excellent. The in-country support that I received in Myanmar was outstanding and surpassed my expectations. All Winrock personnel were very professional and courteous in all my activities. The Winrock Asia F2F Myanmar staff were excellent partners working closely with MLF to organize informative meetings, tours, and farm visits that not only helped me understand their industry and livestock production conditions but also helped me understand the culture and daily lives of Myanmar people.

Bull buyer operation near Myingyan

9.When your friends and family find out that your volunteer assignment was abroad, what do they say or ask?

The main questions they ask are about how different things were there compared to here. Some of those things include food (rice at every meal and lots of spices!), living and driving conditions (which were much more congested than we are used to, and most cars are right-handed because they are used to cars from Japan, but they also drive on the right side of the road), and the cost of various household items (food and many items are much cheaper there than in the USA).

Food markets in Yangon are open 6:30 to 10:00 5 or 6 days a week. Many people buy their food daily because they have little storage area in their homes or have no refrigeration for perishable foods.

10.What do you do when you’re not volunteering?

I am a professor in the Animal Science Department at Texas A&M University, and teach classes and conduct research regarding beef cattle production. However, my most important job is that of dad and husband, and my biggest challenge is time management. I also enjoy working outdoors on the small cattle operation my family and I have.

11.Does anyone in your life play a role in supporting your involvement? In providing inspiration?

I try to minimize time away from my family, but they are huge supporters of me when I choose to go on volunteer assignments. As my children have become older, it has become easier for me to volunteer more. Both of my parents also encouraged me early in life to perform service and volunteer type activities.

12.Do you keep in touch with your host organization? [Host organizations are the organizations that receive volunteer support]

Yes, mainly through social media. I hope to continue communication with them in the future.

Dr. Herring with cattle farmers near Yanthar village in the Mandalay Region

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

I am very glad to have contributed in a small way to a big-picture activity. The more that people understand and appreciate each other’s cultures, the more effective communication can be achieved, and more efficient learning and improvements can be made. The interactions I had with cattle farmers was very enlightening for both me and them.

The Schwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. The first shrine on this site was built around 558BC and structures have been added to it by kings and queens through different dynasties.

Demand for pork is secondary to chickens in Myanmar for meat consumption. Although the swine industry has the potential to improve, several factors— including feed, diseases, and poor genetics— have been identified as limits to mass scale pig production in the country. Individual pig farmers in Mandalay requested Farmer-to-Farmer’s technical assistance to conduct a training on general swine production management. In June 2016, Dr. Halina Zaleski and Dr. Rajesh Jha from University of Hawaii at Manoa, traveled to Myanmar to provide the requested training.

During their time as volunteers, Drs. Zaleski and Dr. Jha trained the farmers on the general concepts of pig farming. Particularly, the farmers gained increased understanding concerning the importance of genetic improvement for maintaining the pig’s resistance to diseases and increasing pig production. They quickly grasped that artificial insemination (AI) is crucial to improving genetic potential as well as improving biosecurity measures of the pigs. The volunteers’ technical training connected to the farmers’ experiences of Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) outbreaks in 2011 in which the breeding boars quickly spread the disease among the swine.

The volunteers did not expect the farmers to adopt the concept of AI so soon after the first training. AI is a relatively sophisticated technique, the F2F volunteers and the Myanmar Livestock Federation (Mandalay Region) re-oriented their training to focus more specifically on AI.

After training, farmers create pens that are dry and clean for housing their pigs

Beyond expectations, one of the trainees, Ko Pyae Sone Kyaw from Mandalay, began AI not only as a farmer but also as a startup service provider. Kyaw sold his fattening pigs and then started a breeding farm by growing gilts (young female swine) in late 2016. He selected 5 gilts to breed and worked with commercial companies and other breeding farms to get boars with good genetic potential. The technical information for breeding strategy obtained from the Farmer to Farmer training was extremely helpful to him. “In addition to the training information on breeding strategy, I still needed to know how to transport semen with very limited facilities, especially limited cold storage along the transportation route. I contacted Farmer to Farmer and the volunteer Dr. Zaleski. The volunteer was very patient and she explained what I should do,” Kyaw said. Now, this entrepreneur has working relationships with commercial companies and government breeding farms which enables him to breed his sows and produce hybrid piglets.

Kyaw also has helped his friends and relatives in different townships near Mandalay to try AI on their pig farms. “I still remembering the volunteer suggesting that we look at the pig industry as a whole” he stated. Now Kyaw is convincing other farmers to use AI as a tool to reduce diseases, improve the gene pool of their pigs, and increase production. He also intends to be a service provider for pig farms wanting to use AI. He has already used AI in 2 villages and some of them have already littered.

Kyaw continues to share the knowledge he acquired from the training with Farmer to Farmer volunteers. Most notably, he shares information regarding how to manage litters of piglets. He also trains other farmers on the correct amount of feed, how to cut the teeth, how to provide and maintain a proper environment for piglets to thrive in.

Piglets now housed in clean, warm conditions

The impact of Farmer to Farmer training directly effects the participants, while also indirectly impacting members of the participants’ communities. As the participants share their training with neighbors, friends, and family, each person receives information that may improve their farming practices and increase their income.

Beyond the expected impact, this Farmer to Farmer assignment gave this Mandalay community a hero and innovator. The volunteers’ continued support after their assignment ended, a direct reflection of Farmer to Farmer’s “people to people” policy, encouraged Kyaw to become a service provider for AI. Kyaw feels proud that he can help other farmers and he looks to the future. “I hope we can produce the quality piglets ourselves to interface with the monopolizing commercial companies,” he concluded.

This week’s blog comes from Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer, David Ringuette. Mr. Ringuette owns and manages Serikaku Farm Ltd., a 15-acre family farm located in Hawaii which produces cacao, banana, lychee, breadfruit, and star fruit. Mr. Ringuette is a retired agriculture coordinator and professor who taught IPM, pesticide safety, plant propagation, irrigation, and soil management. Since retiring, Mr. Ringuette has successfully completed 11 F2F volunteer assignments, many of which have focused on IPM and production of tropical fruits. He has provided volunteer assistance in East and West Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and now Myanmar.

In September 2017, I had the opportunity to work on a Farmer to Farmer Assignment in Myanmar. The Farmer to Farmer program is funded by USAID and implemented in Myanmar by Winrock International.

During my 2 weeks in country I worked with citrus growers in southern Shan State on implementing IPM practices. It is a very mountainous area where avocados, tea, and coffee are also commercially grown. These crops were developed as a substitution for poppies. The 77 farmers were eager to learn new pest control strategies. I covered citrus nutrient deficiencies, monitoring techniques, grafting, pruning, physical control, biological control, and use of chemicals.

Like everywhere in the world there were some farmers’ orchards that were in great shape and some needed substantial work, especially pruning. Most farmers did not know the difference between a fungus and bacteria and often applied one chemical for control of everything. One orange grower from Kaungbo village in Yaksauk noted, “We decided to apply a chemical (no matter it is) whenever we saw a problem in our plant. After Winrock F2F’s training on IPM, we understand the need to think and inspect the cause- nutritional deficiency? disease? insect? fungus?”

Teaching farmers how to graft (lining up cambium layers)

Interestingly, farmers told me that there was more money to be made in citrus than any other orchard crop. They wanted to stick with citrus even with some severe disease pressure. Many orchards were intercropped with tea, tomato, garlic, ginger, or mango. I did not understand the mango/citrus system and it seemed to me there was too much resource competition to be successful. The mango usually out competed the citrus. The garlic, ginger, and tomato system lead to deep cultivation and most likely led to root diseases. The system I thought had good potential was tea and citrus. I did discuss with them about chemical application in a 2-crop system.

Discussing pruning in the orchard

The people of Myanmar are very hospitable and accommodating. The lead farmer always had his wife prepare wonderful food for lunch for me and farmers gave me enough tea to start a tea shop. I was also never allowed to carry my bag. I hope, in the future, to return to Myanmar and once again work with these wonderful people.

All of the trainees (I am the one above the Winrock logo). For most of the trainees, I was the first American they have met.

After Mr. Ringuette’s assignment, he expressed, “The growers were very enthusiastic throughout the training. They asked good questions and expressed a sincere willingness to implement the techniques explained. Many farmers inquired about the purchase of pruning tools.” 

I recently spent four months as a long-term volunteer working with Winrock’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Team in Myanmar. This was my first time working as a volunteer for Winrock International. From the start, I was impressed at how well organized Winrock’s team was with logistics and making sure everything was smooth throughout the duration of my assignment.

During my assignment, I worked with the MEL Team and the project staff to review indicators for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the Value Chains for Rural Development project. M&E is an important function of a project and can serve as its backbone as it provides useful information about how the project is doing (e.g. what things are going well, what things are not going well, whether the project is on target in reaching expected milestones and outcomes, and where adjustments should be made). Ultimately, the information that is collected through M&E helps to tell the story of how Winrock’s Value Chains for Rural Development project is helping to improve the livelihoods of the rural farmers that are being reached.

It was exciting to already see positive results of the Value Chains for Rural Development project. Through agricultural training and demonstration farms, Winrock is working with farmers to raise the quality and quantity of their yields and ultimately their household incomes. The project has catalyzed and strengthened the mobilization of farmers into groups and associations, giving them a collective voice to express their wants and concerns and advocate to the government for the regulation of agrochemical companies, to hold them accountable to provide proper extension services, and control pricing and quality of chemical products. The Farmer Groups help farmers to bargain for better prices to purchase seeds, input, and equipment. The Value Chains for Rural Development project is also focusing on finding and establishing new market opportunities while helping to establish clear grades and standards that will create transparency around the prices that farmers receive for their produce.

Farmer Field School for Sesame Farmers

Farmer Field School lesson about pollinators and pests

One of the goals of my work was to standardize and simplify measurement and reporting across the five value chains that Winrock is working in, which include soybeans, melons, sesame, ginger, and coffee. Even though there are many similarities across these value chains, there are also big differences between the crops, such as the number of harvests in a year, input costs, amount of labor required, and the quantity and value of the yields. These details need to be accounted for to ensure that the data collected is thorough, reliable, and valid. In preparation for the project’s upcoming annual evaluation, the MEL team and I designed the survey questionnaires to ensure that the right questions are asked and tailor them to be appropriate for each value chain. After putting together the questionnaires, we headed out to the fields to test the questionnaires with the farmers. The process of field-testing the questionnaires highlighted the challenges of working in another language and the need to make sure that the wording of questions is as simple as possible and understandable when translated. Field-testing the surveys also revealed differences in reality versus theory. The feedback provided by the farmers was essential for modifying and finalizing the questions.

Female farmers weeding by hand

Myanmar is a beautiful country with warm-hearted people who are eager to learn and grow. The country is developing rapidly with conveniences and familiarity provided by global companies like Uber, Coffee Bean, KFC, and even Hard Rock Cafe. Trying to negotiate a fare and tell the taxi driver where you want to go used to be one of the most intimidating things about getting around town but now you can simply use an app. There is even an app to have food delivered by bicycle courier to your door. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working as a volunteer with Winrock and plan to return to Myanmar to do another assignment soon.