Virtual Farmer-to-Farmer Assignments in the Time of COVID-19

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The USAID-funded John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program is a volunteer program which provides technical assistance to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses and other agriculture sector institutions in developing and transitional countries to promote sustainable improvements in food security and agricultural processing, production, and marketing. The main goal of the program is to generate sustainable, broad-based economic growth in the agricultural sector through voluntary technical assistance. A secondary goal is to increase the U.S. public’s understanding of international development issues and programs and international understanding of the U.S. and U.S. development programs.

Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) implements the Southern Africa F2F program (2018-2023) in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the European country of Moldova. The F2F volunteers usually stay two to four weeks in-country, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person volunteer assignments were discontinued in March. Thanks to continued interest of volunteers as well as host organizations, and relatively good communication technologies, the program has now started virtual assignments in all six countries.

Virtual assignments consist of trainings and technical support via online platforms, such as Zoom and Skype. In most assignments, the volunteer will work with one host organization, providing support focused on the specific needs of the host. A brief Scope of Work orients the volunteer to the host organization and the types of assistance requested. Generally, training sessions last one-to-two hours, two or more times per week, over the course of two-to-four weeks. A second type of assignment consists of technical trainings conducted online by volunteers to a large number of partners and host organizations. These trainings would focus on themes with wide general interest, such as Integrated Pest Management or basics of business and organizational management.

To be eligible to serve as a volunteer, one must be either a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident. If you are interested in volunteering for virtual assignments, please send your CV to the F2F recruiter, Remy Chappetta, at F2Frecruitment@cnfa.org.

Learn more about the CNFA-implemented Southern Africa F2F program. 

Learn more about the F2F efforts globally.

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Bill Nichols