Advancing Global Agronomy, Farmer-to-Farmer

by Amanda Hvidsten

It’s no secret many of us take things for granted. Within agribusiness or elsewhere, it can be ease to assume what we have or what we know is basic, inherent, and even obvious. Yet, what we do with little effort or consideration is certainly not what is accessible everyone else. These things may include government regulations or technologies. It may also include wheelbarrows or fertilizer or sanitation. The John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (FTF) Program was established in 1985 to align farmers worldwide and share various agronomy best practices, increase environmental awareness, and farming efficiency. The program brings expert farmers, agronomists, and agribusiness workers from the United State to more than 100 counties like Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, and Russia, educating locals for better production. Many of the tactics are old hat to developed counties, yet the simplest of suggestions have proven useful and, perhaps, revolutionary for less developed farming areas, increasing quality and quantity of production.

As of 2008, FTF implemented as many as 37 programs, enlisting 12,867 volunteer assignments to 103 countries. Hans Kandel, North Dakota State University Extension Agronomist Broadleaf Crops, was recently one such volunteer in Uganda, Africa. He was selected for the project specifically because his expertise in sunflowers, a new crop grown in the Bukedea district where he provided training; and for his background as an extension educator and time abroad (Indonesia and Zambia). “North Dakota is the largest sunflower production state in the U.S. and it was, therefore, not surprising that a request came to NDSU for assistance in Uganda with sunflower production issues,” said Kandel. “As an extension agronomist, I fit the requirements needed: expertise in sunflower production, experience as an extension consultant and previous work experience in Africa.”

For two weeks, Kandel observed farming techniques, lifestyle and other circumstances of the area. “I was able to identify easy things that [the farmers] could change. So if they follow some of these things that didn’t involve cost, just method, it will increase production and income without increasing out of pocket expenditure,” he said. “The impact can be fairly substantial because I was not looking at inputs people cannot afford.” Kandel also noted that farming in the Bukadea region is mainly done by hand. Very few farmers have access to oxen

Examples of the easily identifiable options included using ash from fire pits in homes to replenish nutrients in the soil rather than throwing it out. Kandel suggested that organic matter found in rubbish piles, as well as manure from local animals should be similarly used. For soil erosion, farmers can use the tall grass that is growing near the fields as a crop cover.

Kandel also worked with Key Farmer Trainers (KFTs) in the area to build line markers for planting in rows. “Too many plants close together caused the sunflower heads to remain small. Our teaching included line planting and proper distribution of plants in the fields. These are fairly new concepts for the local farmers,” he said. Kandel worked with a local carpenter to create a tool for marking four rows at a time. This was a simple adjustment that sped up and improved the quality of the planting of sunflower fields.

Vern Hofman, retired NDSU Extension Agricultural Engineer, traveled to Kenya last year with FTF and like Kandel, worked with sunflower producers. “I was surprised by the lack of mechanization” says Hofman. “They have so much labor available, that mechanization is not an issue. The only mechanization was the ox drawn plow.” While there, Hofman helped develop simple, handmade implements including an ox drawn harrow and row marker. He also taught the farmers how to use a hand planter, which was purchased from Japan, and was new technology for the group. There were frequent discussions about the importance of seed and row spacing to raise uniformly sized sunflower heads. On a previous trip to China, Hofman recalled a foot powered thresher, probably built more for rice and small grains, but he couldn’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work for sunflowers as well and assisted the group in building one.

Hofman also worked with the sunflower oil expeller. “There is no way to clean the sunflowers before they are crushed, and they don’t dehull the sunflowers so much of the oil gets absorbed by the hulls and small seeds from the middle of the head. They have a very poor extraction rate.” There is also a limited filtering process so the cooking oil does not look or smell like the same cooking oil on the shelves in the United States. The sunflower processor had secured a $10,000 loan and purchased a screw expeller and filter, but there is little money available to purchase the equipment necessary for better processing.

Numerous such success stories weave through the FTF program history. Yet, not all deal directly with crop solutions. Many focus on animal farming and product production such as devising nutritional plans for cattle farms that stabilize milk production levels, and even marketing strategy to improve sales numbers.

Farmer-to-Farmer has also mobilized corporations in its quest to respond to the local needs of host-country farmers and organizations. Land O’Lakes is one such corporation that moved into action. The company has completed nearly 200 successful volunteer assignments, sending employees to Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia among others, directly or indirectly benefiting more than 660,000 people.

Some of the assistance needed in these countries circles around basic farming and farm management skills, but also in working within governmental or economic swings. Corruption, labor laws, South Africa’s end of apartheid, import and export issues, as well as the flow of goods within certain countries all add to the hurdles locals face.

The expertise of Land O’Lakes employee volunteers helped engage officials or others in reform, training or mentoring in areas like banking, agribusiness or cooperatives. In Angola, for example, banks began extending credit to livestock producers. In Mozambique, efforts resulted in a new national marketing strategy and brand for their cashew industry. Biofuel production from oilseeds was another viable offshoot, which opened up doors for a new industry within that country.

According to FTF’s data, more than one million farmer families, or five million people, have benefitted from the assistance program. Some of the lasting effects are yet to come as follow-up happens across the various countries. This ensures the new strategies continue and further development can build upon them as time goes on. Dr. Hans Kandel feels confident in the Ugandans’ ability to continue what he offered during his two-week stint. “FTF has a headquarter in the Uganda Citizens’ Netork for Foreign Affairs office. They do have a person that will go back to the group on a number of occasions. So there will be some follow up on that,” he said. Those being served also showed a willingness to learn, and were able to understand the results of making the changes. Kandel said, “The leadership was very motivated to make it a success. The people were very enthusiastic. After the fourth day we still had the same number of key farmers showing up to learn. I attribute that to good leadership and enthusiasm.”

For more information on the FTF Program, its global outreach or opportunities for participation, visit w ww.usaid.gov or www.cnfa.org.