One of the strengths and benefits of the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program is that the volunteers and local host organizations often develop and maintain strong relationships long after the volunteer assignment ends. Our July Volunteer of the Month, Judy Moses, is a wonderful example of this.

Judy, a member of the Browse & Grass Growers Cooperative in Wisconsin, has volunteered with Winrock six times since 2010, supporting a few different farmers associations in Mali and Guinea. On subsequent trips to the same country, she builds in time to check in on her previous host organizations, and over the years she has formed a deep mutual respect and friendship with both her beneficiaries and the local Winrock staff. As a result of these connections and a deep commitment to improving the lives of African farmers, Judy recently won a small grant award to manage her own Farmer-to-Farmer program in Mali!

We asked Judy to reflect on her prior experiences as a F2F volunteer. She shares her thoughts below:

What inspired you to begin volunteering with F2F?

Another volunteer recommended and connected me to an Ethiopian assignment in about 2006. I did a sheep and goat assessment through the highlands. To have a landrover, driver, translator, and huge detailed map was just totally amazing. I still have and prize that map. It was a number of years before I had the opportunity to volunteer again, and that was in Mali.

What have been some of the most memorable moments from your various volunteer assignments?

I have raised livestock for almost three decades, and I still learn something new and amazing about sheep and goats every year. During the last several years, a significant part of my learning has involved volunteer assignments. We (cooperative members) struggle, just like other producers, with lambing deaths, balancing rations, pasture watering systems, cost controls, labor availability, implementing and maintaining appropriate conservation programs. Do these experiences transfer to such a faraway place as Africa? We have found that they do. There are more similarities between us than differences.

One of my trainees in Lofine, Mali [so beautifully] said, “The light of the sun and the light of the moon together are not as bright as the light of the knowledge you brought to this village!” 

Another trainee, in Dladie, Mali, told me, “Come back! We will show you how we listened… how we will apply this. Even if I am called in the middle of the night to attend a training, I would now hurry to do so!

How could I not come back?

What inspired you to apply for the F2F small grant?

I wanted to go beyond farmer helping farmer to cooperative helping cooperative. Information on the F2F grant came into my email box, and I noticed our cooperative actually qualified. We had a conference call discussion on whether the cooperative wanted to take on the responsibility of such a project. Being first of all farmers, none of our members have discretionary income or time, and global activities certainly aren’t in our bylaws. But our members did feel a connection to the villagers I volunteered with, so I was given the “ok” to proceed with caution. I then contacted former Winrock staff in Mali, and they were excited. The former Winrock F2F project director in Mali contacted Winrock’s Director of Volunteer Technical Assistance in the US, and she offered her support. The Winrock recruiter I worked with the most had retired, but she offered her support at no-cost. At this point, we committed. Having this critical support convinced the hesitant members that if funded, we could actually implement. It would have been not only difficult but impossible to do this project without the former Winrock F2F staff’s support and eagerness to participate. They are the heart of this project. I am only facilitating resources so they can succeed.

We have named the project Common Pastures: Sustaining Flocks, Farms, and Families. As with our cooperative in the US, it is devoted to the art and science of integrating animals, trees, shrubs, crops, and pasture.

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All of us at Winrock are so inspired by Judy. We are very excited to see what this new project will achieve! Learn more at www.commonpastures.org orhttps://www.facebook.com/CommonPastures

Our June Volunteer of the Month is Dr. Yugendar Reddy Bommineni, who volunteered for the first time with Winrock’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program in the fall.

Dr. Bommineni shared his expertise in veterinary microbiology with technicians from the Bangladesh Department of Livestock Services – Central Disease Investigation Laboratory and poultry diagnostic laboratory staff from a private Bangladeshi agribusiness. He helped develop lab protocols and provided in-service training to staff on diagnosis of common poultry diseases. His training and technical assistance has been instrumental in helping these two organizations to upgrade their facilities and procedures for poultry disease diagnosis and improve the quality and depth of training and services that they provide to small- and medium-scale poultry farmers.

Winrock’s F2F Bangladesh staff commend Dr. Bommineni for his outstanding support, noting, “The trainees learned many techniques from him. He continued trainings and discussions even after 10 pm. He is a dedicated person to help improve lab techniques for the sustainability of the poultry industry in Bangladesh.”

Dr. Bommineni made such an impression, he was invited back to Bangladesh for a second assignment this month.

We asked Dr. Bommineni to reflect on his first F2F volunteer experience, and he shared the following thoughts:

What inspired you to volunteer with the F2F Program?

“I am originally from India, so the environment of Bangladesh is known to me. After having the opportunity of a good education in the US, I feel the responsibility to help people in the developing world. My father also encouraged me to help distressed people of this region.” 

What were some factors that most contributed to your success on the assignment?

“Firstly, my right education, background, and experience. Secondly, due to my Indian origin, people could express their problems to me comfortably. I also tried to be well-prepared. I communicated with relevant people to understand the problems before arriving in the country.”

How did the assignment impact you personally?

“This was a great experience for me. I learned a lot about Bangladeshi poultry diseases and saw a lot of diseases that I won’t see in the United States.

Working in Bangladesh, I [also] had the opportunity to see the severity of food insecurity. This has been good motivation for me not to waste food and water. I’ve become more responsible to become a good citizen.”

What were the most memorable moments?

“It was memorable to me when I learned from my host staff that my training was special to them. According to them, the learning from my training was very applicable and useful for them to carry out their job responsibilities.

The people who really need help and would benefit from my knowledge or my help was the most satisfying thing to me and acted as the driving force to bring me back to Bangladesh to volunteer again.”

Here are some photos of Dr. Bommineni in action:

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!]

For this month’s Volunteer of the Month, we honor Dr. Mathew Baker (pictured above center), Professor at the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University. Dr. Baker is recognized in particular as an outstanding agriculture education and training (AET) volunteer, having provided important assistance to the formal AET sector in Nigeria.

In June 2014, Dr. Baker conducted an institutional assessment of Center for Entrepreneurship Development & Vocation Studies (CEDVS), Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in Nigeria. He presented a program assessment report and worked with CEDVS administration to develop an institutional assessment and development plan, which provides a framework for CEDVS’  efforts to improve their effectiveness as an AET provider.

As a result of Dr. Baker’s volunteer assignment with CEDVS, Texas Tech University and CEDVS subsequently signed a Letter of Intent to establish a more formal linkage between the two schools.

Dr. Baker and the F2F Nigeria Country Director Mike Bassey, along with co-authors A. A. Jimoh (CEDVS Director) and Taiwo Akande (Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti), wrote a paper titled: “An Expertise-Oriented Evaluation of the Center for Entrepreneurship Development and Vocational Studies, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria: Implications for Assessing and Improving the Federal Polytechnic System in Nigeria.” This paper was accepted for publication in the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education. Furthermore, an abstract was accepted for presentation at the 2015 annual meeting at Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Dr. Baker and Mr. Bassey presented this paper at the Conference on Agricultural Extension and Food Security in Africa at Ohio State University in October 2014. When Mr. Bassey came to the United States to present the paper, Dr. Baker hosted a dinner at Texas Tech that assisted in showcasing volunteerism and the F2F program and to other extension professionals.

Dr. Baker has continued his support of CEDVS. In November 2014, he presented a paper (via video) entitled “Entrepreneurship & Leadership Education: An Inseparable Duo,” at two events hosted by CEDVS. This enabled 7,025 faculty and students to benefit from his ongoing support!

Reflecting on his initial assignment with CEDVS, Dr. Baker notes,

“Professionally, the assignment has contributed to my knowledge on post-secondary education in Nigeria, which I am already using. I am teaching a graduate online program evaluation course, and I have used the contexts of this trip to teach principles and concepts to my students in New Mexico and west Texas. Personally, I have grown and developed as well. It has been a great growth opportunity.”

Dr. Baker is a recipient of the 2014 President’s Volunteer Service Award, having completed more than 100 hours of volunteer service. He will return to Nigeria in May to continue to support CEDVS and the formal AET sector, assessing the how outcome assessment data affects curriculum improvements.

Thank you for your great work, commitment, and service, Dr. Baker!

For this month’s Volunteer of the Month, we honor Kirk Astroth (above center), Assistant Dean and Director of Arizona 4-H Development at the University of Arizona.

A couple of us first met Kirk in January 2014. We were instantly struck by his warmth and passion for youth development. After spending just an hour with Kirk, we knew he would be an excellent volunteer. We were right.

Seven months later, Kirk went on his first Winrock volunteer assignment, under our USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program in Nepal. He made a deep impression on his trainees, who were representatives from the National Youth Federation of Nepal (NYFN) and other youth-serving organizations. (more…)