We are so proud to be a part of a collaborative project with Purdue University and send Lucas Roosa, our Farm to Fork Manager, to Colombia’s Orniquia Region to teach farmers how to further develop their farms and the region. He will be in Colombia for two weeks to teach the pig producers how to add value to their pig meat through making artisanal ham and other products for niche markets. They have very little experience in this in the Orniquia Region and they need to learn how to make value-added products to grow their markets. Currently the small and medium pork producers have very low incomes and profitability because of intermediary buyers who offer low prices.
The other partners in this project are:
Farmer-to-Farmer. The John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program (F2F) provides technical assistance from U.S. volunteers to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses and other agriculture sector institutions in developing and transitional countries with the goal of promoting sustainable improvements in food security and agricultural processing, production and marketing.
The University of Los Llanos. Purdue and the University of Los Llanos develop Scopes of Work for volunteer assignments, based on needs identified by farmer associations, individual farmers, and others. For this project, these assignments will comprise of training workshops, hands-on demonstrations, and other means of technical assistance in agricultural production methods.
Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), promotes sustainable economic growth, food security and agricultural development worldwide. Volunteers help developing countries improve productivity, access new markets, build local capacity, combat climate change and conserve environmental and natural resources.
US AID, the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.