(Hilario, our coffee association president, and me, checking out the coffee trees)
When one hears the word agribusiness, mega-giants like Monsanto and Cargill might come to mind. As Peace Corps volunteers in Panama, however, the term agribusiness has a much less egregious tone. Our work pertains to communities that are typically off the map and living in poverty, and thus, our definition of agribusiness is small-scale, family or community based farming activities that are or have the potential to earn income. Examples of these activities range from selling surplus oranges or beans to a community coffee-growers association selling coffee beans in the national market to something more sophisticated, such as producing multiple hectors of hot peppers to be exported for Tabasco Sauce.
Whatever the activity may be, farmers we work with typically have had very little formal education. While they are incredibly knowledgeable about the land and the crops they produce, they sometimes lack the skills to be savvy businesspeople. Peace Corps’s Agribusiness Initiative seeks to bridge that gap. A few months ago I became the co-coordinator of this initiative here in Panama and in that time have been working to streamline our educational materials. Our training seminars walk farmers through farm planning techniques and fundamental business skills such as accounting, finance, marketing, quality control and distribution. We also focus on empowering farmers by de-mystifying legal contracts, bank loans and crop insurance policies and strengthening their relationships with buyers and government support agencies.
(Me leading a session on farm planning at an Agribusiness Seminar in the Darien, May 2009)
Currently, we are planning 3 agribusiness seminars for the first half of 2010 with a goal of training about 100 farmers on these important skills. The first of these seminars will be held in February in Bocas del Toro and we need YOUR help to make it a success! This region of the country, famous for its beautiful Caribbean islands, is home to many poor banana and cacao farmers. We are raising money through the official Peace Corps Partnership (grant) Program to provide transportation, lodging and food for our participants. Peace Corps volunteers have no access to funds, so we count on the Panamanian government and donations from around the world to fund our work. I know many of you donated or wanted to donate my latrine project, but if you are looking to still support my work in Panama, this is a very worthy (and tax-deductible) cause!
Please click HERE to be directed to our Agribusiness Seminar donation page on the Peace Corps Partnership website. On a side note, this grant is not in my name, but my fellow volunteer and friend that lives in Bocas del Toro, Janell Henry, from Ohio. Thanks a million! And I promise this will be my last pitch for financial support! Happy Holidays!
(Merry Ngobe Christmas. Stockings made with the familiar Ngobes zig-zags)
