AGDES started in early 2006 as a way to express my thoughts on the issues I was interested on; mainly agriculture and rural development but also politics, trade, environment, and gardening. Little by little and thanks to the feedback of many readers, the blog started to become a resource site for students thinking about their future careers, jobs seekers interested in international development, and young professionals looking for advice in their careers. As i try to reach out to many audiences, AGDES is all over the place. One day i use the blog to talk about my garden, another day i use it to express my views on the expansion of soy crops in Brazil. International Development is comprehensive and it will be foolish to try to focus. This generalist approach, i think, is essential to understand development.
My name is Rafael I Merchan. I was born and raised in Cali, Colombia. After obtaining my
highschool degree, i came to the US to study agriculture and natural resource economics at the University of Maryland in College Park.Currently, I'm consulting for Fabretto Children's Foundation, an International NGO that offers hope and opportunity for low income Nicaraguan children, enabling them to get the education they need to become responsible, productive adults. Fabretto serve over 5,000 boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 22, providing a continuum of care and assistance through their entire schooling experience.
In early 2008, I completed a volunteer service at the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) in Lomé, Togo. In this capacity, I assisted on a project involving the use of legumes as cover crops at 16 pilot sites. Also, I conducted international field work in Nicaragua. In the fall of 2006 I prepared a cost-benefit analysis on the use of school gardens as part of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food security program in Nicaragua.
In 2007, I was research fellow at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and before that i was an intern at the Outreach Office of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
I'm deeply interested in agriculture not only at a global perspective but also at an intimate level as every other day i work on a small plot i have in a community garden. I find motivation to keep this blog as i see my three sisters grow (corn, beans, and squash) and as i find frustration of how society tends to forget about the most essential of our needs, food and water. I hope you find this blog appealing. Please comment, criticize, and distribute, all of these are welcomed.
Disclaimer: the views expressed here are my own and in no way represent the views or policies of the organizations i have worked for.
3 comments:
Hi Rafael,
I am Simone Staiger working for CIAT in Cali. Great initiative your blog and greetings from your country
Hi Rafael,
Greetings from the Philippines.
I am Anjo Ayco. President of Small Farmers and Land Tillers Association of the Philippines. Your blog will definitely be of great help to other persons who is at the same interested in agriculture like you. I hope that we might be able to exchange ideas and insights in agriculture. My e-mail ad is ANJO_PHIL@yahoo.com
Rafael,
Very interesting and helpful site. I am also in the process of investigating interdisciplinary graduate programs emphasizing rural agricultural development, narrowed down to Davis IAD and Cornell IARD. I'll take a look at the additional programs you've listed. If you're interested here's a database I keep documenting useful tropical plant and tree species I work with in both rural and urban environs. www.anthrome.wordpress.com
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