The USAID-funded John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program provides technical assistance from U.S. volunteers to farmers and agricultural groups in foreign countries to promote sustainable improvements in both food security and agricultural production, processing, and marketing. In the Fall of 2023 the Smith Center was awarded five years of funding to implement the “Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow” (ALOFT) regional USAID F2F program for Southeast Asia.  The ALOFT program is building off the previous F2F AVOP project that the Smith Center implemented in Cambodia from January 2022 to September 2023 in partnership with the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN).  

Working with partners at the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia, ECHO Asia, and the Central Philippines State University in the Philippines, the ALOFT program  provides technical assistance in climate-smart agriculture, agricultural entrepreneurship and agribusinesses, agricultural education, extension and advisory services through short-term exchanges between skilled American volunteers and farm groups, agribusinesses, NGOs, and universities. These exchanges place American volunteers with Southeast Asia host-organizations for two-week assignments to respond to local requests for technical assistance. 

Follow along through our F2F Success Stories as we highlight the experiences of past F2F volunteers and raise awareness about future volunteer opportunities through the ALOFT Program.

Over the past five years, farmers in Negros Occidental, Philippines, have faced the challenges posed by destructive storms, record heatwaves, and severe droughts. These climate shocks threaten the livelihoods of many who depend on agriculture, especially in rural communities. As a result, more men are leaving rural areas to find jobs in cities that are less dependent on predictable rainfall and weather.

In the meantime, women who remain in agriculture juggle managing their farms with household responsibilities, like caring for children and the elderly. For men who continue to work in the fields, their wives are stepping up, often seeking new ways to earn income to offset losses caused by climate change. While these shifts are positioning women in more visible roles, they can also lead to heavier workloads for women.

To support rural communities and women experiencing these changes, ALOFT Philippines launched a gender and climate assessment aimed at understanding the unique needs of female farmers, who are playing an increasingly vital role in the agriculture in the country.

ALOFT volunteer Michelle Boutell led this effort, surveying hundreds of men and women farmers in Negros Occidental about how climate change has impacted their farming practices and livelihoods. Boutell is a graduate student at the University of Tennessee conducting research on gender and climate change. She noted, “A lot of what I’ve learned about field assessments is from what other people have done, and it was really rewarding to be independently responsible for this assessment—from the background data collection to the fieldwork to the analysis and dissemination of findings.” The results were telling: women reported greater impacts from reduced seasonal predictability and high temperatures than their male counterparts. Moreover, many women expressed a strong interest in adopting irrigation, indicating both an access gap and a willingness to innovate in response to changing conditions.

Based on these insights, the report recommended that ALOFT Philippines collaborate with local organizations to connect women farmers with experts in irrigation. This support will help address the specific barriers that prevent women from irrigating their crops. Boutell also identified entry points in the horticulture value chain to engage women and help them boost their incomes. The assessment also generated additional recommendations to improve climate resilience for all farmers in the region, focusing on best practices informed by research on gender-
sensitive agricultural initiatives.

Boutell reflected on her experience, stating, “I really enjoyed working with the Filipino staff and hearing the perspectives of so many Filipino farmers. Overall, it was a good reminder of why I wanted to go to graduate school in the first place—to be able to address real-world problems through research and extension.”

The ALOFT program is grateful for Boutell’s insights on gender and climate through this administrative assignment. The ALOFT Philippines team is working to recruit women- led and women-serving organizations to host future volunteers. Boutell’s findings will guide the development and implementation of more gender-sensitive assignments with
these groups.