As an organization committed to sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development, the Winrock International Farmer-to-Farmer Program would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and honor the significant contributions and impact that the Black Diaspora has had on the agriculture industry in the United States. For centuries, Black farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers have played a critical role in shaping and sustaining our food systems, despite facing systemic discrimination and barriers to land ownership and access to resources. Their contributions have been vital to the success and diversity of the American agriculture sector, yet their stories and legacy have often been overlooked or undervalued. We understand this is a long-term commitment and that much work must be done. However, we are committed to being a part of the solution and working toward a future where Black farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers are honored, respected, and have the necessary resources and support to thrive. This is why we at Winrock International’s Farmer-to-Farmer Program would like to recognize and honor the work of one of our Volunteer Champions, Dr. Onesimus Otieno.

Dr. Onesimus Otieno is a passionate advocate for international development and an experienced volunteer with Winrock. Onesimus has gained valuable experience and confidence through his volunteer work with Winrock, allowing him to develop networks and obtain international experience. Dr. Onesimus Otieno a committed and passionate F2F Volunteer. As a Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer with Winrock International, Dr. Otieno shares his teaching and information technology expertise to benefit farmers and communities in Senegal, Nigeria, and beyond. Dr. Otieno has been praised for understanding his audience and tailoring his teaching to their specific needs. Dr. Otieno’s dedication to this work has made a lasting impact, with Hosts and fellow Volunteers reporting increased knowledge and enthusiasm for their work due to Dr. Otieno’s leadership. As a F2F Volunteer, Dr. Otieno has also gained a global perspective that has impacted his professional focus and worldview. He recognizes our world’s interconnectedness and the impact each individual can have on others.

What makes you passionate about the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, and why do you feel you can be such a strong advocate?

I represent the many whose lives have been transformed by the experiences we gain abroad. I discovered how much impact a single individual can make in a community. At each of my eight assignments, I have learned how to apply my technical skills in different contexts. I discovered new things about myself as I was stretched beyond my comfort zones. My world is now a lot wider. I have more confidence in my skills and have a more extensive global network of colleagues. The skills I learn abroad have made me better back home, and I can more effectively mentor others toward global awareness.  

Why do you think it’s vital for BIPOC to participate? What is the purpose and importance of having a DEI initiative?

The importance of the DEI initiative is to mainstream BIPOC into all activities. This represents a more complete spectrum of Americans to the world. Many countries experience marginalization of minority groups, and the DEI initiative demonstrates an atmosphere of inclusion. Demonstrating inclusion by example will help motivate our host partners to do the same. The authenticity of being inclusive within will go a long way to give our hosts a sense of inclusion where they perceive themselves as colleagues and peers.

What are the benefits of Volunteering with Winrock?

The projects are very well vetted, and all plans are put in place to use time and resources efficiently. The assignments are well coordinated by very efficient and professional staff. This happens from the day you first declare interest to follow-up after the project in networking with new and old volunteers. I have been to eight assignments, and they all were very well coordinated.

What advice would you give a new Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer?

Please welcome what will change you as you change the world! The Winrock International staff does a great job of matching your skills to the assignment and provides all the support you need to be successful. This reduces the anxiety associated with working in unfamiliar environments. The assignments are long enough to create an impact and have a meaningful experience of the local culture and environment. The assignment is also short enough to fit into a busy schedule with multiple conflicting priorities.

October 16th is World Food Day, a day to promote awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and a lack of food security. Through USAID Farmer-to-Farmer program, Winrock volunteers are helping contribute to #ZeroHunger by sharing their expertise in sustainable agriculture methods and post-harvest loss reduction. Their efforts help smallholders increase productivity and income, empower themselves by forming cooperatives, and increase resiliency by diversifying the products they are able to sell. Continue reading to learn about a recent success story that embodies the efforts behind World Food Day and #ZeroHunger. 

There are more than 400 mango varieties mangos in the world, and Myanmar is home to over 190 varieties with a distinct taste, color, and shape. In 2016, one F2F volunteer evaluated 132 varieties from four regions of Myanmar, 19 of which were determined to have commercial potential. Farmers in the Mandalay Mango Farmer Group subsequently received technical training from two F2F volunteers, Mr. Brian Flanagan, and Dr. Martin Lo, on improved post-harvest handling and processing techniques and food safety standards.

The many mango varieties of Burma

Mr. Flanagan introduced easy-to-adopt integrated pest and disease management strategies and orchard management practices to improve profitability and market access. Since the training, mango farmers are using coated paper bags to pack fruits on trees to protect them from fruit flies and are pruning branches that show signs of disease or damage. Farmers are not using any pesticides when packing the fruits with paper or plastic bags. U Win Min Than and U Tin Aye, two mango farmers, have been able to decrease annual production costs, by over $400 and by over $850 per year, respectively, due to reduced pesticide use and better pruning practices. U Win Min Than states, “I could reduce costs using pesticides for mangos and follow the pruning steps. Since I don’t need to use a lot of pesticides, it becomes less costly.” 

Mr. Flanagan also demonstrated simple, low-cost technologies to enhance the quality of value-added mango products. Ma Nyein explains, “During the training, the volunteer recommended very applicable and affordable post-harvest handling and processing practices like using a solar dryer to dry the mango to improve food safety issues and the quality of mango leather.” The solar dryers are made using locally-available materials, consisting of a steel pot and solar plastic. Based on the training, farmers are now transferring the leather to drying racks as opposed drying them on the ground. Ma Nyein explains that farmers are also getting better prices for their products, “Before the training, one viss of mango leather was 1,000 MMK. Now, one viss is 3,000 MMK by following some post-harvest handling and processing practices including drying practices that were provided by the volunteer to improve the quality of mango leather and dry mango. Therefore, farmers who make mango leather are getting good incomes, including me.”

Two women set up their mango leather for drying

Adopting these simple post-harvest handling and food safety practices has allowed about 100 farmers (25%) within the Mandalay Mango Farmer Group to obtain Myanmar Good Agricultural Practices certificates from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, which will also help them to sell to more profitable markets. Ma Chan Mya Nyein comments, “I have become focused on food safety and quality after the training.  I’m always careful of my fruits … are good quality and safe. Clients also praise that the mangos are in high demand.” In addition, due to farmers’ new connections with the Mandalay Mango Farmer Group, individual farmers have been able to receive better information on market prices, demand, and supply to improve their selling practices.

The Mandalay Mango Farmer Group is also disseminating the volunteers’ training materials. They have copied the materials and have shared them with over 100 farmers in the region. In addition, six female teachers and researchers from the post-harvest technology training center in Mandalay attended the training and are now able to provide improved technical assistance to farmers with questions on post-harvest handling and processing of mangos.

A woman from Mi Chaung Tat village selling homemade mango

Winrock volunteers, like Dr. Jonathan Deenik and Dr. Glen Fukumoto, are helping to #endhunger by building farmers’ resilience through improved soil fertility management and composting applications. On a recent technical assistance assignment in Myanmar, the volunteers had the opportunity to work closely with two farmer organizations. The organizations attracted approximately 130 farmers, local government agents, and NGO professionals to the workshops and demonstrations; covering topics on soil fertility management, livestock waste management, and composting.

Dr. Deenik is a soil fertility expert and defines soil fertility “as the ability of the soil to supply essential plant nutrients and soil water in adequate amounts and proportions for plant growth and it is the foundation of productive, vibrant cropping systems. Soils, however, vary dramatically in their ability to store and supply elements essential for good crop growth. A sandy soil has limited capacity to store and supply plant nutrients whereas a finer soil with proportionately more clay will typically store and supply more nutrients. Soil fertility assessment is typically conducted through soil testing, which involves a series of chemical analyses to determine soil nutrient availability.  

On this assignment in Hmawbi Township, I provided training in soil fertility assessment to two sets of farmer groups. Training participants at both sites brought soils from their respective farms and we tested the soils for pH (acidity) and available nitrate, phosphorus and potassium using my mobile soil testing equipment. The reflectoquant® technology uses different test strips for nitrate (N), phosphate (P) and potassium (K) coupled with a portable spectrophotometer to acquire concentration values for each nutrient. The participants went through the extraction and filtering steps, and then used the test strips and the spectrophotometer to the assess NPK status of their soils.

The farmers easily grasped the simple procedures and eagerly brought their soil samples forward for testing. With results for their soils in hand, I also provided them with the appropriate knowledge to interpret the test results and make fertilizer recommendations. After compiling the results, I highlighted the fact that many of the farmer’s soil samples were acidic to very acidic. Soils from paddy rice fields tended to show low nutrient status whereas soils from intensively managed vegetable fields were typically higher in nutrients – especially phosphorus. On the soils with low nutrient status, I presented some options for appropriate soil amendments including compost, manure, and synthetic fertilizers and presented some simple calculations to estimate the amount of amendment to add. In cases where soils had high nutrients, I emphasized to the farmers that fertilizer additions in these soils could be reduced to prevent nutrient loss to the environment with considerable savings to the farmer.

Access to simple, rapid, and reliable soil testing will have far-reaching impacts improving the livelihoods of rural Myanmar farmers empowering them to make sound fertilizer decisions that increase crop production while protecting soil and water resources.”

Dr. Deenik observing participants soil testing skills.

Dr. Fukumoto is an animal science specialist whose work focuses on on-farm projects in co-composting and nutrient management data collection. He describes composting as “one of the great wonders of the biological world. It is a natural process of aerobic microbial degradation of organic matter resulting in a stable and valuable soil amendment. 

During the second workshop series, we discussed the possibility of including a compost demonstration with Dr. Thet Khaing, Project Management and Communication Specialist for the Winrock International Asia F2F Myanmar field office. Dr. “TK”, as we affectionately call him, is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and provides volunteers with wealth of knowledge about all things Myanmar – from culture and history to arts and crafts, and recommendations to the best restaurants in town. The host farm was eager to support the last-minute addition of a compost demonstration to the workshop agenda. With the farm manager, I discussed the logistics of the demonstration: dimensions and design of the compost bin, requirements for carbon and nitrogen materials, water, and tools that were needed to build the compost pile. Everything was purchased, gathered and ready the next day.

“Built with locally sourced and natural materials, this was one of the most beautifully constructed compost bins I’ve worked with.” Glen Fukumoto

I worked with the farm crew, mostly through crude hand signals, and we completed the coolest compost bin I’ve worked on: woven bamboo side panels, custom-made bamboo aeration pipes, and a bamboo structural frame. Rice husks were used as the carbon resource and the nitrogen was provided by poultry manure. I had hoped for a beautiful day for the outdoor demonstration; well, at least no rain during the build. Thankfully, it didn’t rain during the demonstration, but working in the hot and humid weather with my shoes anchored in the sticky clay mud, and being surrounded by over 70 eager farmer participants, many seeing a compost pile being built for the first time, was just another great experience of delivering practical information and introducing innovative and age-old technologies for rural agricultural development.

The recycling of farm by-products and livestock waste through simple on-farm composting systems can help to replace a portion of the chemical fertilizers and improve the biological health of the soils to improve crop production, as well as to reduce the pollution potential of animal manure runoff into water resources in the region. In addition, the compost can be an integral part of the nutrient management plan of farms considering a transition to organic farming systems.” 

This week Feed the Future is celebrating its partners who are working to #EndHunger across the globe. Since 2009, the United States has led the way in strengthening global efforts to reduce poverty, hunger, and undernutrition through the Feed the Future initiative. Winrock International’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program is currently supporting this mission in three of the 19 Feed the Future focus countries – Bangladesh, Nepal, and Senegal.

In Bangladesh, the Farmer-to-Farmer Program engages skilled American volunteers to provide training and technical assistance to support youth entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector and to strengthen agricultural education and training institutions. Six Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers have supported four Feed the Future projects in Bangladesh.

Dr. Daniel Miller, who has completed eight Farmer-to-Farmer assignments in Bangladesh, worked with the Feed the Future Livestock Production for Improved Nutrition project to train 50 private sector entrepreneurs on cattle herd management techniques. This training better equips the private sector entrepreneurs to educate smallholder farmers on proper herd management and treatment practices. Dr. Mahbub Alam, Livestock Team Leader for the Livestock Production for Improved Nutrition project expressed, “Daniel Miller’s training and the module he developed have been a complete package for our staff and private sector entrepreneurs to conduct future training on improved dairy cattle herd management for the farmers. I expect that the private sector entrepreneurs who received training would be able to show some noticeable changes.”

Dr. Daniel Miller shows how to measure the body weight of a cow using a measuring tape during a hands-on farm visit in Satkhira.

In 2015, volunteer Dr. Yangming “Martin” Lo conducted two trainings with Feed the Future’s Cold Chain Bangladesh Alliance on good agricultural practices (GAP) and developing GAP guidelines for farmers. After the training, the project was able to disseminate information on improved pre- and post- harvest management, safe use of pesticides, GAP, and sanitation standard operating procedures to 6,750 (40% youth) fruit and vegetable farmers. The project prioritized protocols to set up a three-tiered Bangladesh-specific GAP system based on farmers’ needs, input from government and non-government actors, and findings from a stakeholder workshop. “[The] Farmer-to-Farmer training helped our staff to learn improved information and knowledge on GAP,” said Dr. Md. Anisur Rahman, the project’s Deputy Chief of Party. “The staff are providing training and disseminating information to the farmers efficiently, and thus farmers are getting improved results.”

Dr. Vonny Barlow, a University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources entomology expert, conducted training sessions on proper pesticide use for the Feed the Future Agro-Inputs Project. Since the volunteer assignment, the project and the Agro-Input Retailers Network have been able to train 245 retailers and disseminate information on safe pesticide use to over 9,000 farmers. The Agro-Input Retailers Network members have rearranged shelved pesticides according to World Health Organization toxicity color codes and organized 150 farmer field days to share the information with farmers. Improved pesticide practices will subsequently help improve judicious use of pesticides and ultimately food safety and food security for the people of Bangladesh.

Dr. Barlow displaying the personal protective equipment that farmers are advised to use when spraying pesticides. An estimated 15% of the beneficiary farmers are now using personal protective equipment, up from about 0% reported before the assignment.

Dr. John Woiwode provided training for the Feed the Future Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition project on hatchery management and set up of a water recirculation system for fish hatchery operations. After the training, the host was able to train others on water recycling techniques for carp and tilapia hatcheries and help two other hatcheries to install water recycling systems. The systems allow for consistent supply of water to ensure production throughout the season. With one production season, the cost the equipment is able to pay for itself, and reduce energy consumption by 20%. Over 2,500 fish farmers have benefited by obtaining a consistent supply of improved quality fish spawns from those hatcheries. The host noted that Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer assistance built their confidence to help private hatchery operators to install improved water recycling systems in fish hatcheries, which contributed to low cost, good quality spawn production, and thus increased fish production.

Dr. John Woiwode demonstrating ammonia measuring methods for the water recycling system at Modhumoti Hatchery in Jessore.

Currently, about 27 million people live in Feed the Future’s target regions in Bangladesh where food security and nutrition present major challenges. With the continued support of generous volunteers and ongoing collaboration through the Farmer-to-Farmer program, Winrock hopes to continue to support the important mission of Feed the Future to ultimately improve the lives of Bangladeshis for years to come.

To learn how you can volunteer with Winrock through the Farmer-to-Farmer program and help #EndHunger, visit winrock.org/join-us/volunteer/.