December 3, 2010
Media Advisory: Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteers Forward USAID’s Feed-the-Future Vision
USAID to Honor ACDI/VOCA Volunteers for Food Security Work in Poorer Nations
Four ACDI/VOCA volunteers will be recognized Tuesday, Dec. 7, at the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program Implementers Volunteer Appreciation Event for the work they did this year to reduce hunger in poor communities.
Fighting world hunger is at the heart of USAID’s new Feed-the-Future program, which was implemented in May to further the U.S. pledge of $3.5 billion toward agricultural development made at the 2009 G-8 summit in response to rising world food prices and food riots.
Given the recent financial crisis, programs like USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer program are a win for U.S. taxpayers because they help development aid dollars stretch further, says ACDI/VOCA Volunteer Director Diana Roach.
Technical experts like ACDI/VOCA volunteers Peder Cuneo, Dr. Roger Ellis, W. Kirk Miller and Gary Mutz volunteer their time and expertise on a variety of programs, ranging from staple food crops and horticulture to financial services and natural resource management.
“The only compensation our volunteers receive are the memories and relationships they build working in these communities, and of course the satisfaction of making a difference,” Roach says.
The event’s keynote speaker will be Gregory Gottlieb, senior deputy assistant administrator of the newly created Bureau for Food Security, which oversees the Feed-the-Future initiative.
What: John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program Implementers Volunteer Appreciation Event
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 7
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: One Washington Circle Hotel, Washington, D.C.
ACDI/VOCA Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer Honorees
- Dr. Peder Cuneo of Tucson, Arizona, is an extension veterinarian with 31 years’ experience in animal science and veterinary medicine, who enhanced food security in villages throughout Egypt by increasing milk productivity and livestock quality of dairy cattle and buffalo.
- Dr. Roger Ellis is a practicing veterinarian and co-founder of Veterinarians Without Border, with more than 30 years of international service experience, who worked with local farmers in both Lebanon and Liberia to improve livestock reproductive health and disease.
- W. Kirk Miller of Ohio, has served agribusinesses and the U.S. government in agriculture and international trade for more than 40 years, and helped Ghanaians create a five-year strategic plan for the soybean industry.
- Gary Mutz is an international consultant with extensive global experience who worked with cooperatives in Jordan to market their products and to train farmers on marketing and quality assurance.
USAID will recognize 17 Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers, including others from CNFA, Veterinarians Without Borders, Partners of the Americas and Winrock International.
Media Note: On Monday, Dec. 6, ACDI/VOCA will host its own volunteer appreciation event, which begins with the volunteers visiting their state representatives on the Hill to discuss their Farmer-to-Farmer experiences. Media interested in accompanying the volunteers on a Hill visit or attending the ACDI/VOCA event should contact Perry Letson, pletson@acdivoca.org.
