Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Republic of Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan

Farmer-to-Farmer: Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia

Overview:

The five-year, $7.4 million John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, funded through USAID, focused on select agricultural value chains, identifying needs at every level from production to marketing.

From 2008 to 2013, CNFA sent more than 340 volunteers focusing on fruits and vegetables, dairy and livestock value chains to Belarus, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Approach:

CNFA relied on the expertise of U.S. volunteers from diverse backgrounds to respond to the needs of host country farmers and organizations. Volunteers were deeply experienced in their fields and represented all ages and industries as farmers, bankers, professors, civil servants and active and retired business people.

The assignments, ranging from two-to-four-week long projects, varied in scope, from training associated service providers and agribusinesses in financial management to marketing, cooperative development, agricultural production, post-harvest and processing technologies, international quality standards and rural finance.