Latin America and the Caribbean

Rob Johnson is a former TechnoServe Fellow who worked in Haiti in 2011 performing a poultry value chain assessment. After his time as a Fellow, Rob returned to serve as a program manager in the TechnoServe Haiti Office. He then launched a social enterprise in Haiti called Acceso, which works to improve smallholder farmer income through inclusive value chains. In this Q&A, Rob shares how TechnoServe played a foundational role in his life and social enterprise career.

Ermelinda Vargas Paye, owner of Hostel Mary in the city of Moquegua, Peru, won’t let COVID-19 steal her spirit – or her livelihood. A lifelong attitude of determination, and business training from TechnoServe, prepared her to lead her enterprise through the pandemic.

The last coffee farmer in his family, Axel Gutiérrez took TechnoServe training to heart as he tried to keep his farm operational. Now, after much hard work, he expects to double his profits this year.

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in Agrilinks on October 12, 2021. The female members of the Asociación de Productores Selva Nororiental (APROSELVANOR) cooperative had many ingredients for success: a strong desire to make their farms productive and profitable, a cooperative organization that supported…

TechnoServe’s Angelica Cubas Pérez visits a farmer in Nicaragua. This is the story that unfolded over lunch.

A cacao farmer in Nicaragua reaches the global stage as his chocolate rolls off a conveyor belt in Denmark. But not everything goes as planned. It isn’t long before climate change tests his resilience.

In 2019, Kyle and Katina Connaughton, owners/operators of SingleThread Farms, traveled to Peru through the Chefs for Change initiative – a program that connects the world’s best chefs to smallholder farmers in developing countries.