|
|
|
|
|
The Farmer-to-Farmer (FTF)
Program was first authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1985 to provide
for the transfer of knowledge and expertise of U.S. agricultural
producers and businesses on a voluntary basis to middle-income
countries and emerging democracies. The program relies on the expertise
of volunteers from U.S. farms, land grant universities, cooperatives,
private agribusiness’, and nonprofit farm organizations to
respond to the local needs of host-country farmers and organizations.
FTF volunteers provide assistance to individual farm enterprises,
cooperatives, farmers' associations, agribusiness', rural credit
institutions, universities, and agricultural youth groups overseas.
Volunteers are recruited from farms, and agribusinesses all over the
United States. The average length of assignment is 15 to 20 days. Over
the past five years, 2300 volunteers have had the satisfaction of
completing assignments in 33 countries around the world. Because of the
programs’ success, U.S. Congress re-authorized the
Farmer-to-Farmer Program in the 2002 Farm Bill, and designated it the
John Ogonowski FTF Program in honor of one of the pilots killed on
September 11, 2001. Read more
about John
Ogonowski.
The program seeks to
promote agribusiness and international trade capacity development in
various world regions. Another goal is to promote economic growth by
empowering citizens to proactively change their economic standing
through education and training. Winrock
International and Florida International University (FIU) have been
selected to implement USAID’s
John Ogonowski Farmer-to-Farmer (FTF) Program in Latin America from
FY2004-FY2008. Winrock and FIU’s program goal is to increase
rural prosperity and promote trade-led economic growth in the core
countries of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador by
enhancing the capacity of farm producers and rural industry to benefit
from domestic, regional and international trade opportunities.
Winrock
Winrock uses innovative
approaches in agriculture, environmental protection, renewable energy,
leadership development, and policy to increase long-term productivity,
equity, and responsible resource management. Since 1991, volunteer
assistance has increased productivity and income in more than 25
countries.
Winrock works with
farmers, local organizations, research and educational institutions,
and policymakers to improve agricultural productivity, sustainability,
and income in developing countries. Efforts include research,
information dissemination, training and education, policy analysis and
development, and improving the ability of institutions to respond to
changing needs.
For more information, Winrock Link www.winrock.org
FIU's Involvement
Utilizing the expertise at
FIU in many fields dealing with Latin America, the Entrepreneurship
Center obtained a $4.2 million US AID grant, in conjunction with
Winrock International (formerly the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation),
to help support agribusiness entrepreneurship in Central America. FIU
provides business know-how to help farmers in Central America learn to
better identify trade opportunities and increase exports. The college
will receive approximately $868,000 in funding throughout a five-year
period and will send graduate student experts and business
professionals in the areas of marketing, entrepreneurship, information
technologies, accounting and general business skills to provide
technical assistance and training to farmers and farmer organizations
in these countries. FIU also recruits agriculture experts with
backgrounds in everything from mango flowering to pest management.
FIU draws from other areas for experts who can
assist farmers in creating sustainable business models. FIU's role is
to find qualified volunteers to teach these farmers how to develop
successful businesses models and become competitive in the growing
global economy.
|
