Volunteer Impact in East Africa

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CNFA has been working in East Africa since 2006 working to provide technical assistance to host organizations. Its volunteers have completed 112 assignments and donated over 1,849 volunteer days. Their efforts have leveraged almost $870,000 of professional expertise. Volunteers have traveled to Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Under its current USAID Farmer-to-Farmer contract, CNFA will field over 300 volunteers over five years to assist 100 host institutions and enterprises.

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Kenya: In total, CNFA volunteers have completed 27 assignments and donated 644 volunteer days. This past year, 19 volunteers worked with 10 hosts to complete assignments in horticulture, grains, and oilseed sectors. Through their work, the volunteers potentially benefited almost 90,000 people in Kenya.

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Tanzania: CNFA volunteers have completed 36 volunteer assignments and donated 595 days, or over 14,280 hours. Twenty-three volunteers since October 2009 worked with eight hosts providing valuable training in the grains, legumes, and horticulture value chains. Volunteers were fielded in a variety of disciplines within each of the value chains, including financial management, leadership skills, business planning, soil management, pack house management, and marketing strategy development.

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Uganda: CNFA volunteers have completed 26 assignments in Uganda and donated 564 days. Since October 2009, CNFA volunteers worked with 8 host organizations to complete 17 assignments that resulted in the potential impact to over 462,000 people in Uganda. Volunteers worked primarily on grains and oilseed country projects addressing areas such as production, processing, value addition, improved growing techniques, increasing market linkages, and association strengthening.

CNFA also sent a volunteer to Rwanda this past year.

Previously, CNFA sent volunteers to Southern Sudan under its VEGA/AMED USAID contract to complete 22 volunteer assignments from 2006-2008. These volunteers came from other parts of East Africa and the Diaspora community and assisted 16 agribusinesses, cooperatives, government bodies and farmers groups, providing direct training to 388 individuals.

For measuring purposes, a "volunteer" signifies a single trip made overseas in which a specific assignment was completed. Potential beneficiaries include host clients, suppliers and family members.

Highlighted Success

ss_kenya_highlight Located in the southeast city of Machakos, Kenya, Dryland Seed Company (DLSC) is a private seed company which serves the demand for seeds suitable for cultivation in this semi-arid region. While successful in developing, procuring and disseminating new seed varieties, the company faced formidable technical and business challenges that impeded its growth. However, partnering with the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program implemented by CNFA, DLSC received technical assistance that increased sales, maintained profitability in downturns, and attracted additional investment.

Commenting on the business’ success, owner Ngila Kimotho said, “Had I not partnered with CNFA, I wonder what would have happened to my business.”

East Africa Volunteers in the Media

October 18, 2010: "From Idaho to Kenya", The Standard Journal, Full Article.

March 12, 2010: "Stevens Point Agribusiness Volunteer Returns From Africa", Wisconsin State Farmer, Full Article.

February 2010: "Advancing Global Agronomy, Farmer-to-Farmer," Prairie Grains Magazine, Full Article.

January 27, 2010: "Local Volunteer has International Impact," The Creswell Chronicle, Full Article

Read more stories of Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers here.