What We Do / Food Security and Agriculture Overview
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Food Security and Agriculture

Partners believes that by empowering farmers, agribusinesses, and rural institutions to improve production, processing, and marketing, they can help address the challenges of food security in their own countries. Agricultural development and food security are critical issues and with the increasing global concern and Partners is making a difference through our programs that provide technical assistance and training, help strengthen value chains linkages, promote organizational developments, all while protecting the environment. Partners has implemented agriculture programs for more than 20 years in 24 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Close to 2,000 technical experts have traveled on assignments to work with 1,800 agribusinesses, cooperatives, universities, and private farmers. Programs have directly benefited over 90,000 people and leveraged more than $25,000,000 in resources.

  • John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer to Farmer Program- Caribbean Region: From 2008 to 2013, Partners is working on the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Farmer to Farmer Program in Haiti, Guyana, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, with activities in select other countries. The program focuses on agricultural commodity chains, and US volunteers provide specific technical assistance to small and medium producers, agro-processors and others working at all levels of these chains. An estimated 580 volunteer trips will be completed, working mainly in horticulture, tree crops, small animal production, apiculture, and dairy development. 
     
  • John Ogonowski Farmer to Farmer Program - Caribbean Basin: From 2003 through 2008, Partners fielded 196 volunteers on technical assistance assignments to Haiti, Jamaica and Guyana, focusing on horticulture and other high value crops. Partners assisted 276 host organizations and had close to 14,000 direct and 570,000 indirect beneficiaries.  
     
  • Farmer to Farmer Program – Latin America and Caribbean: From 1996 to 2003, Partners sent 615 volunteers on assignments in 17 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and West Africa. The program worked with 840 host organizations, impacted 35,000 direct beneficiaries and countless indirect beneficiaries, leveraged millions of dollars of in-kind resources, recruited volunteers from 36 U.S. states and reached tens of thousands of people in the US through public outreach activities. 
     
  • Guyana Dairy Development Program (GDDP): From March 2001 through February 2004, this USAID-funded program strengthened the dairy sector by improving production, processing and distribution. More than 7,000 cattle farmers learned new techniques; three milk processing plants were either started or strengthened; and the quality, variety and accessibility of dairy products for Guyanese consumers increased. 
     
  • Farmer to Farmer Program – Latin America: From 1991 to 1996, Partners sent 289 US farmers and agriculturists from 29 different states to work in 12 countries to increase food production and distribution and promote environmentally sound agricultural production. The specialists worked in areas such as: cattle production, horticulture, vegetable production, poultry, aquaculture, irrigation, integrated pest management and food processing for exportation.

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