News
Program Snapshot: Guinea
Winrock began implementing Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) in Guinea in FY12, strengthening capacity of agricultural institutions and producer organizations to provide agricultural curricula, training, information and services to increase food security and reduce poverty. As that program ended, the Mission invested in its own similar program to continue work in agricultural education and training (AET) through volunteer support to local institutions. The Agricultural Education and Market Improvement Program (AEMIP) invested $6.7 million, working in close collaboration with Winrock’s new $2.5 million F2F program for AET.
In response to the Ebola crisis in FY15, FTF invested further in Guinea using the F2F model. The FTF Guinea Agricultural Services Program (FY16-21) is based in two F2F associate awards. Strengthening Market-led Agriculture Research, Technology and Education (SMARTE) continues the investment in capacity development through activities focused on AET, extension and advisory services, and research and development. Strengthening Agricultural Value Chains and Youth (SAVY) expands access to inputs and markets through agricultural input supply services, financial inclusion, and market facilitation. Both draw extensively on US and local volunteer expertise.
Volunteer Anais Troadec worked with Guinea’s AET stakeholders group, GAIN, providing training of trainers in Leadership for Change methodology. The new trainees now serve as change leadership focal points for their institutions, working to establish gender mainstreaming committees, policies and institutional mission statements on gender, emphasizing the need for creativity in effective change leadership. The participants were very excited by Anais’ excellent technical ability and approach.
Mary and Robert Albrecht have completed many F2F assignments across multiple countries and implementers. In Guinea, they strengthened organizational skills of poultry farmers associations and enhanced the groups’ abilities to provide training and services to members. Robert conducted training of trainers, developing a training plan and manual for members. Mary trained group leaders to promote and support outreach, retention, service delivery and compliance. The assignments helped build a stronger foundation to enable these national groups to more effectively support their members in the future.
Implementer: Winrock International
Timeline: FY14-18
Budget: $2.5 million
# of Volunteers: 75
Areas of Focus: Formal and Informal Agriculture Education and Training (AET)