As we drive into the Horticulture Initiation Center of Ziguinchor, Senegal, I am greeted by a welcome site—students working alongside instructors in a lush, green, and productive garden. Given the number of people employed in agriculture in countries like Senegal, this is a sight far rarer than it should be. As someone who benefited from programs like 4-H as a young person, I know first-hand the long term benefits of investing in agriculture education.

My mission in Senegal was 27 days, working with 3 different agriculture and vocational training institutions to assess their level of work thus far and lay out a 5-year strategic road map to improve their work, their student’s education and employability, and their impact on the surrounding communities. Having spent the past 5 years working with agriculture, life skills, and vocational skills training across Africa, I was excited to see a focused effort by Winrock and Farmer-to-Farmer to invest here as well.

Formal agriculture education originated in the U.S. when the extension service had trouble getting farmers to adopt new practices. Youth, as early adopters of innovations have less to lose, and more to gain by trying out new methods and technologies. The same is true today around the world. For many in the developing world, “farmer” is not a profession or occupation, it is a socio-economic status. You farm because you have nothing else and can do nothing else. However, we see this mindset changing with young people who see farming as a business, a science, and a profession. During one of the visioning activities we conducted, a student identified the opportunity and need he saw for agriculture education this way: “The government and international organizations are always talking about 2 critical issues: youth employment and food security. The education I am receiving now is the solution to both of those.”

Through the SWOT analysis and interviews we conducted with staff, teachers, and students, we saw some of the effects of this negative perception manifested in areas like: recruiting expert teaching staff, sourcing educational resources, accessing adequate funding, and student employment upon graduation. In spite of these challenges, again and again, we saw examples of people going above and beyond to support their schools. Teachers talked about visiting student’s homes when they noticed they seemed to be struggling. Students talked about the goals and aspirations that their education would enable them to achieve. Administrators talked about their dedication to find a way, regardless of a lack of funding and resources.

Utilizing all the findings of surveys, interviews, and analysis, we moved forward with creating, objectives, strategies, and activities that will help the school to achieve their mission. And with missions like “To be a center of excellence, training the next generation of farmers and impacting the skills of current farmers in our community,” who wouldn’t be motivated? The result of all the assessments, group discussions, and planning were strategies that would move the schools and agriculture education forward in their communities and Senegal.

Schools were eager to identify ways that they cannot just improve their work, but network and share with other institutions to create and improve educational resources. They want to find ways to engage with the community at large to both gain support for their students, as well as improve agriculture practices and perceptions around them. They want to train their students to be leaders and change-makers, business people and innovators, as well as farmers.

The dedication and commitment that school managers, teachers, and students exhibited show a glimpse into the future of Senegal’s agriculture sector. By investing in the skills and knowledge of young people, Senegal and the surrounding countries will reap the benefits of a trained and dedicated workforce of agriculture businesspeople, leaders, and decision makers. It was an honor to work with these schools and the amazing Winrock support staff to contribute to the realization of this vision.

Winrock volunteer Robert (Bob) Albrecht passed away unexpectedly in January. He was an inspiration and will be truly missed.

Bob began his volunteer service with Winrock International in August 2001 with an assignment in Nigeria focused on fisheries design and management. After that first trip, he spent two months working with host, Ife Central Fish Farmers, introducing them to new fish farming techniques. He was accompanied on this assignment and many others by his wife, Mary.

Over the 16 years following that first assignment, Bob and Mary traveled the world to help many host organizations and their families. They worked to improve businesses and communities. No place was too far or too remote to scare them off. The Albrechts went to Nepal to lead trainings on fish processing and waste management; Guinea during the Ebola crises to help poultry farmers with enterprise development and marketing; Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, where they worked with residents on chicken and duck raising businesses; and Russia to share their knowledge of feed production development.

In 2006, Bob returned to Nicaragua for a second time, to work with the National Cattle Commission. “It was heartwarming to see that many of the recommendations that I had made in previous visits were being put into practice,” he observed, “and that the implementation was enabling the farmers and processors to enjoy a higher quality way of life.”

Bob and Mary in Guinea

Guinea staff member Mamadou Thiam described Bob as very sensitive, knowledgeable and caring. He noted that Bob was always aware of his surroundings and connected with the people.

Winrock’s Director of Agriculture & Volunteer Programs DeAnn McGrew recalled that, “Bob and Mary were two of the first Winrock volunteers to Nigeria in 2001. As a new recruiter at that time, I was struck by their humility and their generosity of time, energy and spirit. I am honored and humbled to have worked with them. Bob’s generosity and dedication to others will be sorely missed.”

Bob and Mary touched the lives of hundreds of people in the developing world. In 16 years, they completed 25 assignments with Winrock in 10 different countries for a total of 479 volunteer days. Through hard work and a fierce dedication to volunteerism, Bob and Mary changed lives.

During his lifetime, Bob made countless friends all around the world; many of these friends work for Winrock International. We are grateful for the time and knowledge he donated to our programs over the years, and we will miss Bob’s warm smile, his tireless work ethic, and his zest for life. Though Bob is no longer with us, his spirit lives on in those he touched around the world.

Bob Albrecht in Senegal

Farming is a constant responsibility, but luckily we get a little time off in the winter when the crops are dormant. It’s the time I look to broaden my awareness of the world, and traveling to countries with intact agricultural societies is my favorite way to do that. I just returned from my 4^th Winrock International/USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) assignment, this time in southern Senegal, teaching micro-gardening skills to trainers at the Horticulture Initiation Center in Ziguinchor. Micro-gardening is the growing of crops in the smallest of spaces: in recycled containers, or woven poly grain bags, even impromptu raised beds lined with brick and lined with plastic—whatever is available. Micro-gardening was identified some 15 years ago by the FAO as a way to provide access to fresh vegetables to the urban poor and unemployed, an increasing problem with the constant movement to cities from rural farmlands. We took a look at the existing projects in Dakar, based on planting tables using peanut hulls and rice hulls as a planting medium, and chemical nutrient solutions as fertilizer. As a certified organic grower, I of course immediately started looking for natural alternatives to the expensive imported fertilizer, and later we found just that: homegrown fertilizer produced using on-site chicken coops and vermicompost.

Arriving at the Horticulture Initiation Center in Ziguinchor, I felt immediately in my element, surrounded by beds of lettuce and cabbage, with the students busy each morning as we arrived, watering, shaping and fertilizing beds, planting and weeding. During the four-day session, I introduced both technologies from the States (‘Smart-Pot’ planting containers, seedling plug trays, hand-held seeders) and from Kenya (vertical grow bags and sack gardening); and in the afternoon practicums we adjourned to the garden to plant.

One afternoon, the only woman in class, Amy Diedhiou, invited us to visit her rice field where she was finishing up bundling the rice to carry home and thresh. While in the field visiting with Amy and her sisters, Amy’s husband called on her cell phone and asked to talk to me. He said, “Mark, thank you so much for coming to Senegal. We have a lot of energy, but no means, and we can’t see the way forward. Please think very carefully about this for us.” I spent the rest of the evening pondering this. What are the wisest investments that can help transform these subsistence growers into market producers? The question is pressing, open-ended, and creative…and will not be forgotten.

We spent time in class discussing the expansion of micro-gardening to micro-market farming, and the importance of crop choices for maximum profits and tight crop scheduling for year-round marketing. Hopefully, all these topics will be included and expanded on by the trainers in their respective horticultural schools.

When farmers meet farmers across oceans of cultural difference, hearts expand and we recognize each other immediately. I can’t think of a better way for an agriculturalist to spend their ‘off-season’ than to meet and share with their global counterparts–everyone is enriched from that meeting.

In June, I had the honor and pleasure of traveling to St. Louis, Senegal to work with CONCEPT. I worked with CONCEPT’s dedicated training staff to develop a training program for artisans and agricultural processors.

In Senegal, per capita income is only $1,000 (less than 2% of that of the United States) and life expectancy is 66 years (vs 79 in the United States). Poverty in Senegal results in part from the weakness of the private sector and the shortage of strong business skills and behaviors.

The Senegalese non-profit organization CONCEPT has trained artisans and food processing micro-entrepreneurs in production. Artisans include carpenters, and food processing micro-entrepreneurs transform millet and other crops into food products. For example, some of CONCEPT’s trainees make a popular dish called “thiakry” from millet and milk and sell it on the local market.

After production training, the CONCEPT staff realized that the trainees also needed improved business skills to complement their technical skills to succeed in their microenterprises. CONCEPT solicited Winrock’s assistance to train its trainers in management and entrepreneurship. This training was intended to enable CONCEPT’s trainers to help artisans and food processing micro-entrepreneurs develop stronger businesses.

Under the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program with Winrock, I spent two weeks in Senegal training CONCEPT in management and entrepreneurship. Training was highly participatory with numerous games, exercises, case studies, and discussions. Topics included entrepreneurial behaviors, communication, marketing, communication, recordkeeping, financial analysis, and business planning. After the workshop, the CONCEPT trainers prepared a training session of their own to present to each other and to practice in preparation for training of local micro-entrepreneurs.

The training was held in St Louis, on the coast of northern Senegal near the border with Mauritania. The island of St Louis near the mouth of the Senegal River is on the UNESCO World Heritage list due to its past role as capital of Senegal and its distinctive colonial architecture. Although tourism helps the local economy, business activity needs to be stronger to raise living standards.

Since I visited during the Muslim fast of Ramadan, most of the local population was not eating or drinking during daylight hours. Although a day without food or liquid in the heat of St Louis can be tiring, the CONCEPT staff participated very actively in the training and showed strong motivation to pass on their learnings to their beneficiaries.

F2F volunteer with CONCEPT participants

To me, human capital is more important than financial capital. My hope is that CONCEPT’s trainers will be able to empower micro-entrepreneurs in St. Louis to strengthen their businesses, thereby improving their lives and those of their employees and families.

In September, two volunteers completed Pesticide Safety Assessments for the Farmer-to-Farmer for Agriculture Education and Training program in West Africa. Sandra McDonald traveled to Guinea, and Ples Spradley completed an assignment in Senegal. The purpose of these assessments was to ascertain and evaluate pesticide safety, regulation, training, education, and use in the countries. Both Sandra and Ples are members of the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators, a group focused on protecting human health and the environment through education. Sandra is the founder of Mountain West PEST in Colorado and works as a pesticide safety educator. Ples works for the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture as an associate professor and extension pesticide safety education specialist.

Sandra and Ples are first time Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers. Each of them knew Farmer-to-Farmer by its reputation and were excited to volunteer when they were approached by Winrock. Sandra said, “I’ve always been impressed with Farmer-to-Farmer. Transferring knowledge and technology to the ground level is the only way to make development work.” (more…)