The 2011 ASHS Annual Conference

There are many countries around the world where horticulture expertise is in demand. Understandably, some countries will always have larger horticulture sectors than others. Some of these places are also targets for international development dollars and consultants are more likely to be in demand in such countries. Lebanon is one such country, where there are a lot of opportunities for horticulture consultants. USAID funding of projects through several contracting NGOs such as ACDI/VOCA and Winrock International has lead to multiple horticulture-related projects in Lebanon. Some of them require Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer consultants while other projects offer short- or long-term paid consulting opportunities. Volunteer projects can be quite variable from something as straightforward as training farmers to use agricultural chemicals correctly to training growers how to handle apricots or onions so that they get to market in acceptable condition. Other projects, such as hydroponic sector development, require different expertise, and consultants are often hired for different parts of the project and for different amounts of time. Fortunately, I was able to serve as both a volunteer and a paid consultant in Lebanon in 2010. I’ll discuss how those positions came about and how each one played out, so that others can also avail themselves of such opportunities.