Looking for a change of pace? The Peace Corps is seeking volunteers with agricultural experience to serve as "technical agricultural specialists" in developing countries to help create and develop small-scale commercial farms. Reports AgJournal:
Small farmers in many emerging economies are struggling to adapt their traditional farming techniques in the face of a rapidly changing climate and increasingly unstable agricultural markets. Unfortunately, as global agricultural markets expand, little attention has focused on the importance of small-scale producers in maintaining local food supplies. As a result, global food supplies are at historic lows, and this poses a threat to the food security of many developing nations.
So if you'd like to make a difference in the world in a tangible way, and have 27 months of your life to devote to living and working overseas, check out the opportunites with the Peace Corps. What a great adventure and what meaningful service.
Comments
I planted string beans this year from beans i saved from last years harvest. Although the plants appear nice and green and healthy, they are producing no fruit. I gave some of the beans from last years harvest to a friend and she is having the same problem.
Why?
I would recommend anyone considering the Peace Corps think carefully about what they are getting into. Be sure that you are NOT going into a brand new program. The established programs in Africa have much more support and understanding of what a volunteer can offer.
I am a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer) and I served for two years in a country that had never had PCVs before. There was little or no support for the volunteers, the country unit was staffed by bureaucrats who were more interested in getting their foreign service credits than in helping us, and the locals expected a lot of unreasonable things from us.
Honestly, I can’t recommend the Peace Corps to anyone. Check with your church or other charity organizations if you want to do good works internationally. There are dozens of ways you can help without inserting yourself into a giant political machine.