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DEAR NEW FARM:
Thank for your hard work and help you are giving to farmers in
Senegal. My question is how can I be trained in farming? My goal
is to start an agribusiness enterprise in Senegal. Comments, thoughts
on this enterprise are appreciated. Thank you again.
Chek Diop
Senegal
DEAR CHEK:
Unfortunately, our program in Senegal has been terminated. The
Institute is finalizing its strategic initiatives, and training
farmers is one area of focus. Our international program depends
heavily on grants we receive from donors. Proposals have been submitted
in partnership with other institutions in countries where we are
invited.
Here is some general information about organics that may help
you: Right here on The New Farm website you’ll find international
applicable resources on our International
page, in our Resource
Directory, our archives
and in the New
Farm Forums. You can also find international certifying agencies
in our Organic
Certifiers Database. We have an online course for farmers transitioning
from conventional to organic agriculture that is currently available
as a beta version (www.tritrainingcenter.org/course),
and much of the information will be useful to beginning farmers
as well (while it’s geared toward U.S. farmers and USDA guidelines,
the course contains valuable information for anyone interested in
organic farming). Another excellent source for specific topics related
to organic and sustainable farming is ATTRA - the National Sustainable
Agriculture Information Service (www.attra.org).
Your best resource is always other farmers in your region, so seek
them out wherever and whenever possible. Finally, we invite you
to sign up and receive our free
e-newsletter for monthly updates on the latest news and features
in organic and sustainable agriculture.
Best regards,
Amadou Makhtar Diop,
PhD
International Program Director
The Rodale Institute
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