Volunteer Impact in Southern Africa

sa_ftf CNFA has been working in Southern Africa since 1997 and has sent over 250 volunteers to the region. Of these volunteers, 94 have been fielded under its current USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Southern Africa award and an Associate Award in Angola and 157 under a previous award from 1997-2003. This volunteers have worked with hosts in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Volunteers have donated 5,300 days and leveraged over $1.4 million in professional services.

Over the course of the 5-year program, CNFA will send over 380 volunteers to the region.

ss_angola Angola-CNFA has sent 17 volunteers to Angola since October 2008, donating 289 volunteer days. This past year, volunteers worked with 7 hosts providing needs assessments, training, production and marketing improvements. Their work potentially benefited 31,053 beneficiaries in Angola.

ss_malawi_impact

Malawi-CNFA has sent 38 volunteers to Malawi since October 2008, donating 683 volunteer days. This year, volunteers assisted 15 hosts providing assistance in horticulture, groundnut and soybean value chains. Their efforts potentially benefited almost 56,000 people in Malawi.

ss_mozambique_impact Mozambique-Since 1998, CNFA has sent 59 volunteers to Mozambique, donating over 2 years worth of time. In this past year alone, 19 volunteers worked with 11 host organizations in the horticulture and oilseed value chains, benefiting over 75,000 people in the country.

Zimbabwe-CNFA has been sending volunteers to Zimbabwe since 1997, totaling now 101 volunteers. In 2010, under its current award, CNFA has selected and sent 3 volunteers. These volunteers donated 56 days worth of volunteer time working with their host to impact 877 beneficiaries. CNFA will continue to expand the number of volunteers it sends to Zimbabwe in the next 3 years of the project.

CNFA has also sent volunteers to Zambia and South Africa.

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_frusumo Following a devastating 27-year civil war that ended in 2002, the Southern African country of Angola is now improving its agricultural and commercial sectors and reducing its reliance on food imports and foreign aid. Part of this effort, one Angolan businessman hoped to rebuild his once successful fruit juice processing plant that had been destroyed in the war. But to do so, he needed the initial capital to front the reconstruction costs. Working with CNFA’s Farmer-to-Farmer Program, one volunteer from Arizona helped the business owner draft a comprehensive 5-year strategic marketing and business plans to secure the needed investment.

“What’s important to me is what the program is and its viability,” the volunteer David Wagner of Scottsdale, Arizona, said, “This project was viable and would have a direct effect on the business community in Angola.”

Southern African Volunteers in the Media

May 6, 2010: "Ann Savage Plants Seeds For Business Success Worldwide", The Lake Oswego Review, Full Article.

May 5, 2010: "Farming in Malawi: Big Island Resident Volunteers with Farmer to Farmer Organization", Big Island Weekly, Full Article.

March 1, 2010: "Texas Vegetable Oil Consultant Volunteers in Malawi", The Burleson-Crowley Connection, Full Article.

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

February 19, 2010: "Professor Takes Farming to Mozambique," The Chattanooga Times Free Press, Full Article.

February 8, 2010: "Gary Bullen Conducts Research Work in Malawi," Extension Online News, Full Article.

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