News

Georgian Cheesemaker Expands His Business with Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer Assistance

| ACDI-VOCA

Entrepreneur Gocha Gagashvili started his milk collecting and cheese production business in 2008 in the small village of Kurdgelauri in Georgia’s Kakheti Region. Almost a decade later, in 2017, he welcomed Steve Morgan, a U.S. volunteer with ACDI/VOCA’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program in the Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia regions. The Farmer-to-Farmer Program mobilizes highly qualified U.S. volunteers, who provide technical assistance with the goal of increasing productivity and raising farmers’ incomes.

Oregon State University Professor Volunteers in Kyrgyzstan

| ACDI-VOCA

Fruit production employs more than 35,000 people in the Kyrgyz Republic’s Issyk-Kul Oblast, where more than 1,000 hectares of land is covered by orchards. The export potential of this industry is considerable. But many farmers lack basic knowledge of pruning and grafting, organic farming, and pest and disease prevention.

Volunteering through Generations: How a Wisconsin Family Supports Armenian Farmers

| ACDI-VOCA

After first hearing about the Farmer-to-Farmer Program in 1994, John Bobbe eagerly signed up to volunteer in Poland. The program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, mobilizes volunteers like John to provide technical assistance to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses, and others in developing and transitional countries...