Training will be a key feature (and KPI ) in terms of measuring the success of the Harvest VX Farm’s initiatives. We not only need a varied training programme to cater to the wide diversity of possibilities and potential that Longxan holds for the future of farming, we also have the matter scaling up so that we can train as many farmers as the facility can hold. Surely, this is to be a never-ending work in progress.
As a first step, building up the capacity and capabilities of an Ops team is critical. We now have an energetic team of agricultural specialists, a vet, an animal nutritionist and an administrative officer to help with the budgets and accounts. All of them hail from the local universities and have been based in Longxan since the time they joined the Foundation. They are led by a Manager who was born and lived in Longxan before joining an NGO. As an ethnic Hmong himself, Saylend is able to speak the language and knows the area and the people there extremely well.
Since November 2019, the Foundation has been busy tying up arrangements for some future visits by foreigners eminent in their field of expertise. We would require them to come to Longxan to impart their know-how to the local community – on a pro bono basis. Thankfully, the initial response has been encouraging.
We also visited the famed Canaan Farming School in South Korea to better understand how they run their programmes training farming communities the world over. Their leader, Mr Kim Bum Il was so kind as to agree to take some of our qualified students into their programmes when the time is right.
We will also continue to develop our relationships with the local, charitable and NGO farming community so that future collaborations which will achieve common objectives, can become a reality.
The Foundation feels that this aspect of linking ourselves with the international agricultural community is key to the growth plans of the Foundation.