On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, two USAID representatives, Erin Baize and Kevin Fath, accompanied me on a visit to the Katibougou Farmers’ Cooperative (BFC). We met with the cooperative’s president, Mr. Amadou Diaby and four of their members (3 women and 1 man). The cooperative president took us on a tour of his farm and then conducted a briefing on the cooperative’s activities, achievements, constraints, and perspectives for growth. During the briefing, he told us that his first encounter with the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program was when a farmer that he met in the market of a nearby village told him about the program. The farmer gave him a contact number to call the F2F country director to request for technical assistance. Shortly after, in September 2010, the cooperative received its first F2F volunteer, who trained them on organizational capacity building. Subsequently, the cooperative members received training from both Mali Agricultural Value Enhancement Network (MAVEN) F2F project and Common Pastures’ Sustaining Flocks, Farms, and Families project (F3P) F2F programs:

1. Improving Small Ruminant Herd Management Through Appropriate Bookkeeping with Women’s Cooperative “Sigi Tè Mogo Son” of Katibougou in September 2011
2. Improved Small Ruminant Health & Management in Koulikoro – Use of Solar Stove to Reduce Deforestation in June 2015
3. Improved Small Ruminant Nutrition through Local Forage Trees
4. Facilitate the Intercropping of Legume Forage Trees on Small Farms and Establishment of a Demonstration Site in April 2015

The cooperative president explained that before F2F support, he was farming dwarf goats and his herd was a total of 25, including 20 females. He was milking his animals twice a day and could only collect 3 liters of milk per day, just enough for his family’s consumption. Thanks to a program donation, in 2017 the cooperative received one improved breed Sahelian buck and was trained on animal reproduction and crossbreeding. Today, all the cooperative members are rearing goats that have at least one offspring from the improved goat.  In addition, Mr. Diaby sold or gave away for free 50 improved offspring to neighboring farmers. It should be noted that Common Pastures F3P provided the cooperative with equipment including community pharmacy of veterinary drugs and supplies, precision balance, Burdizzo Castration Device, hooves pliers, laminated tables of eye score (FAMACHA), body condition scoring tool, and 500 plants of forage trees of three species including Leucaena, Gliricidia and Moringa.

Mr. Diaby confirmed that he is illiterate and therefore to earn his living he relies on agricultural activities, especially goat farming because of its rapid growth, easy farming, and quick marketability. By attending F2F training and applying techniques learned, Mr. Diaby has had the following improvements and successes:

1. To date, he hasn’t any dwarf goats in his herd and thanks to the breeding program, his goats’ milk yield increased from 3 liters per day to 8-10 liters; that means he is able to sell 5-7 liters of milk at approximately $1.40 per liter. That is an income of  $7 per day or $210 per month;
2. There is a lot of demands for the improved goat he can’t yet fully meet. From 25 goats, his herd increased to more than 100 goats; and from $20 per head for adult goat, he is selling a newborn at $20 and for more when they are grown;
3. Before cooperative members did not provide colostrum to newborns and now they are early fed with it and kids death decreased significantly;
4. As prevention is better than cure, all the cooperative members are assessing their herd daily in order to take care of the little concerns are able to then call for the veterinarian for the bigger concerns;
5. The best improvement from this year is that he has been able to separate the males and females and synchronize the crossbreeding. His latest group of 54 newborns (26 males and 28 females) are all a month old and can be reared easily; and
6. Lastly, he is not primarily farming goats for meat, but instead producing and selling improved goats for crossbreeding. When selling his improved goats to farmers, he always takes the time to provide advice on best practices of care and growth. Sometimes he even visits the customer on his/her farm to motivate them further towards progress.

He also said, “My vision for the future is to convert my improved goat production into a real business by fencing my farm, enlarging my well for more water, continuing to improve my breeding, synchronizing births, building a larger shelter for goats to prevent hoof diseases and collecting manure for my crop field. Of course, I will also continue learning from F2F volunteers, other partners and farmers as knowledge doesn’t have an end.”

F2F training is still in demand. During the meeting, the women cooperative members asked for training for poultry farming and vegetable growing.

At the end of the meeting, Kevin asked Mr. Diaby if he tracked newborn deaths. Mr. Diaby responded, “With certainty. Before this [newborn death] was a major issue but I found the solution of early vaccination of newborns even a day old in addition to good feeding and close assessment helps prevent this; I remember the volunteer Scott Haskell recommendation: Stop – Look – Listen.”

After expressing their sincere thanks to cooperative members for their availability, Erin, Kevin, and I  went back to Katibougou Village where we shared and enjoyed a lunch consisting of “Tô” a cooked local millet in hard pasta and okra sauce. It was very nice to share a meal and these experiences with our USAID colleagues and enjoyed hosting Erin in Mali.

My name is Chelsey Corliss, I’m 24 years old and I’m an Agroforestry Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Kindia Region of Guinea. I have been living in Guinea for seven months. Environmental conservation and organic farming are two of my interests for my service but I have trouble talking and teaching about organic farming because using chemicals makes farming so much faster and easier, right?

The Farmer-to-Farmer training in Kondoya at Fabik Ferem Ecole was wonderful. I honestly didn’t know what to expect before going. I was actually uneasy about how difficult it was to get to the farm because taxis don’t go out there, but once I got there I realized how perfect Fabik Farm School was for an organic farming training. The school director had so many dreams and aspirations that were so inspirational and motivating. I invited two members of my community who rely on farming for the majority of their income. The trainer, Tom Sebranek did a great job of explaining the topics and engaging his students. I enjoyed seeing my counterparts so engaged, asking questions and becoming excited to implement some of the new techniques they were learning.

I learned new techniques for composting, pest management and seed collection as well as how to teach them. I plan to start composting in my village with many of the farmers who are interested in going organic. With the help of my counterparts, I think that we can gain more interest in organic farming and help our community become healthier and greener. I can not wait to get started!

“Si vous prenez soin du sol, le sol pendra soin du vous!” – “If you take care of the soil the soil will take care of you.”

This is the second installment of introductory blogs written by our wonderful field staff. Today is from our friendly driver from Nigeria!  

My name is Ndah Blessing, a staff of Winrock in Nigeria since November 2011. All things being equal I should graduate with a BSc in Mass Communication by the year 2020 from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Before I joined Winrock, I worked with an international school called Global International College as the Utility and Logistics Manager. My hobbies are listening to some good music, watching football, playing table tennis and traveling. My interest in working with an international organization had always existed, so my employment with Winrock International was an answered prayer. Working and interacting with Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers in different areas of agricultural value chains has given me the opportunity to learn and become an expert of some sort in different skill areas and value chains – for instance, I have used the knowledge I have received in beekeeping to help family, friends, and members of my church to establish and manage beekeeping operations – these I do without any fee. Many times I have leveraged my fluency in the local Hausa language and stepped in to further explain lessons/ provide contexts/ names of materials, etc. during assignments.

The most interesting aspect of the job to me is when working under pressure. For example, in the summer of 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 when we had a lot of volunteers arriving almost at the same time; which meant all but one of us were traveling to support the volunteers – it went smoothly, thanks to the Country Director, Mr. Mike Bassey who prepared us and trusted us and gave us the opportunity to handle this level of responsibility. One of my most memorable moments was when I traveled with a volunteer, Mr. Bill Symons, to Kaduna to teach a group of equipment fabricators on how to fabricate a grains thresher and after the initial introduction to the host community on a Friday where everybody was in high spirit to learn, there was an incident the following Sunday resulting in the government imposing a dusk to dawn curfew and we had to remain in the hotel all through the week. An opportunity came the following weekend when the government relaxed the curfew for four hours a day to allow Muslims go to the mosque on Friday and Christians go to church on Sunday as well as allow families to replenish their supplies, the Country Director arranged for us to get fuel and for a military escort to escort us to Abuja.

For me to pull that through was the proudest and most memorable experience on the job; the reason being that at Winrock International, our volunteers, come first. Winrock International provides a one-stop shop opportunity to work and to learn, grow, make decisions, work with minimal supervision – even under work pressure because as a staff of Winrock International, there are many opportunities for you to showcase your strengths. I remain grateful to God for the opportunity given to me to work with Winrock International.

Thanks.

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.

Today, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day. The 2019 Earth Day campaign centers on the protection of animal species. The Earth Day network notes that “All living things have an intrinsic value, and each plays a unique role in the complex web of life. We must work together to protect endangered and threatened species.”

Among those species are bees.

Bees provide economic opportunity for farmers. Beekeepers can sell the honey and use the beeswax to make value-added products like candles or lotions. Bees are not only important for their honey production, but they are also critical for the environment in their role as pollinators. Farmers benefit from bees’ pollinator role in the ecosystem, as bees pollinate 70% of crop species that feed 90% of the world’s population.[1] Many plants—including food crops—would not survive without bees’ pollination role in the ecosystem[2].  Bees are vital for healthy agricultural systems.

Verifying final honey product

Winrock, via the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program, has fielded over 120 volunteer assignments to support beekeepers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. As Winrock dives into the implementation of the West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer program, below are some recent impacts of beekeeping assignments in the region:

• In Guinea, F2F trained the Beekeepers Federation’s trainers, who replicated the training to 32 groups (827 producers). Techniques widely shared include natural methods to keep ants away, making beeswax products and better hive management. With these technical improvements, in addition to organizational development support, the Federation was able to negotiate a new contract with pre-payment. Sales doubled in just two years.
• In Senegal, the International Center for Practical Training in Mboro-Beekeeping Division replicated training in improved beekeeping among 8,427 beekeeping community members. The training included specific modules on parasite and disease management and harvesting and processing of by-products. The Center’s successful application of improved beekeeping has led to a partnership with Grande Cote Operation-Zircon, whereby the Center will train GCOZ’s staff.
• F2F trained the Honey Producers Microenterprise of Ley Miro, Guinea, in topics related to governance and technical subjects related to the quality of honey and production of byproducts from beeswax. The organization was able to roll out five new or improved products, including soaps and clean honey, to the market. The members were also able to replicate the training to two additional organizations.

Girls testing lotion made during training

All these activities support bee populations and amplify the importance of a bee’s role in our ecosystem.

As a volunteer, what can you do to support bee populations and Mother Earth? Whether you are providing technical assistance to farmers in the field or designing an agricultural curriculum with a university, discourage the use of pesticides. The widespread use of pesticides destroys bee habitats and kills bees. Instead, encourage natural integrated pest management practice and multi-cropping practices that diversify and increase bee habitats.

Making Soap with Honey

[1] http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140502-what-if-bees-went-extinct

[2] National Resources Defense Council. “Bee Facts.” 2011.