Capacity building for agricultural advisory personnel to be strengthened in Oaxaca and Puebla

• The expected impact of the knowledge transfer is that participants will strengthen and reinvent the processes of change and transformation of agrifood systems.

January 10, 2024. Specialists from the Environmental Economics and Sustainable Agribusiness Unit (UEAAS/EfD) of CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) are leading the project Capacity building for agricultural extension technicians who accompany change processes and promote sustainable development in rural areas.

"With this program we seek to contribute to the acquisition of new competencies, knowledge and skills through a comprehensive training program aimed at technical extension personnel in the agricultural sector in the states of Oaxaca and Puebla so that they can improve the impact of their activities in response to the current challenges imposed by rural development in Mexico," said Evelyn Chaves, CATIE project coordinator.

Project objectives

The project focuses on the curricular design of a comprehensive training program called Talento Agro, structured in a hybrid modality (face-to-face-virtual) that is divided into two diploma courses with two modules each, respectively.

"The topics to be addressed in the training program will begin with a training of trainers process that will provide participants with techniques and tools to strengthen the accompaniment, confidence and effectiveness of the services with which they support sustainable agricultural producer organizations," said Chaves.

The other two major objectives of the training program are to monitor learning through an active evaluation process and to establish partnerships with Mexican institutions to transfer the program so that it becomes a public good.

Chaves explained that the project is financed by the German cooperation, better known as GIZ, from its offices in Mexico and through the Vida y Campo project.

One year to share knowledge

The project will be implemented over the course of a year and will enable professionals from the agricultural sector in the states of Oaxaca and Puebla to receive support from CATIE specialists on topics related to sustainable agribusiness (organizational management, financial and business management), as well as other topics, including climate change, forests and biodiversity, and inclusion.  

The project is aimed at professionals in the agricultural sector and the involvement of women and young people under 35 years of age who work in the beekeeping, sheep and goat, mezcal agave, native corn, coffee and cacao chains is highly valued.

Coordination and preparation

As part of the coordination and preparation of the contents and specific details on the implementation and goals proposed, Chaves and Susana Acuña, who is a sustainable agribusiness technician at CATIE's UEAAS/EfD , made a visit to Mexico in November last year to coordinate with GIZ representatives, jointly review the curriculum and establish links with local partners who will participate in the project, among other aspects.