Experiences with the Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer Specialist Program: Projects in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic

Perhaps one of the best ways for prospective consultants to gain international experience is the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program. This program offers numerous opportunities for volunteer specialists to solve all sorts of problems with many different crops in many different countries. The specialist may be asked to fulfill many tasks and in some cases, make presentations, develop budgets, make recommendations and file reports: all things commonly required of paid consultants. Experiences of this type are very useful as examples of prior consulting accomplishments when one is applying for paid consultant positions. F2F also provides the experience of working through subcontractors as USAID contracts with numerous agencies such as ACDI/VOCA, Winrock International, Land O’Lakes International Development, CNFA and others to manage the numerous projects in various countries. Of course, each project may be quite different from another. Examples of recent F2F volunteer projects in Guatemala (Partners of the Americas) and in the Dominican Republic (FAVACA/Partners) will be discussed as they relate to valuable consulting experiences gained.