Sustainable Agriculture Extension Promoter - Volunteer Position - Onsite in Panama - 2 years, plus 3 months training
Peace Corps
People & HR
United States
Posted on May 3, 2025
About The Job
Apply by :
October 1, 2025
Know By
December 1, 2025
Depart On
June 20, 2026
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Project description
Panama is commonly referred to as “puente del mundo, corazón del universo” (bridge of the world, heart of the universe), and is a land of mixed realities. Its strategic geographic location influenced the construction of the Panama Canal, which accelerated immigration and contributed to Panama’s multicultural population. With one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, Panama is an international logistics, banking, and tourism hub. However, Panama also has the second-worst income distribution among Latin American countries, with approximately 22% of the population with income below the national poverty line.
Many communities in rural Panama are mainly comprised of subsistence-based farming families, particularly in indigenous areas. Land degradation, limited access to resources, high production costs, and low yields affect the production of high quality, nutritious food as well as a sustainable income. To mitigate these agricultural challenges, Volunteers in the Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) program collaborate with small-holder rural farmers—men, women, youth, and children—to improve their food security and the resiliency and sustainability of their livelihoods.
Volunteers collaborate with community members to identify and prioritize local needs, as well as co-plan strategies to address them. Part of this process involves identifying work partners, who may include model farmers, local artisans, local host country ministry technicians, and/or community leaders. Interaction might be one-on-one, as when working alongside a farmer in her kitchen garden, or in a group setting, as when co-teaching with a model farmer about better fertilization practices to the local coffee producers’ association.
Volunteers support their work partners in addressing agriculture production issues such as soil conservation, integrated pest management, or post-harvest management. For farmers exploring new income-generating activities, Volunteers may support them in growing cash crops such as vegetables or coffee or producing artisanal goods from local materials. Volunteers, in collaboration with work partners, address business topics such as budgeting or marketing to support these endeavors. Volunteers also support community-based groups to assess their own organizational capacity and co-create plans for improvement, coaching members on topics including strategic planning, communication, and leadership. Volunteers work alongside key household members to improve understanding of the importance of a diverse diet. This is done by introducing recipes from a nutritional standpoint and promoting healthy foods, particularly lesser-known agricultural or traditional crops.
A typical day might involve hiking several hours through the jungle to visit a farm and observe a new bicho (bug) that is eating the crops, mixing up a compost pile at the local school out of chopped banana plants and cow manure, trying out a new recipe with a woman’s group over a three-stone fire, or adding up farm costs with a family in a notebook as everyone tells stories at the end of the day.
During Pre-Service Training and throughout service, Peace Corps Panama provides learning experiences to strengthen Volunteers’ competencies, in areas such as sustainable agriculture techniques, basic business skills, nutritional information, and organizational management. The most important skill Volunteers need to be successful is the ability to communicate ideas clearly and to develop strong interpersonal relationships. Creativity in using locally available resources is also important. Volunteers must be prepared to be proactive, self-driven, and to motivate others.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture and one or more of the following criteria:
Apply by :
October 1, 2025
Know By
December 1, 2025
Depart On
June 20, 2026
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Project description
Panama is commonly referred to as “puente del mundo, corazón del universo” (bridge of the world, heart of the universe), and is a land of mixed realities. Its strategic geographic location influenced the construction of the Panama Canal, which accelerated immigration and contributed to Panama’s multicultural population. With one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, Panama is an international logistics, banking, and tourism hub. However, Panama also has the second-worst income distribution among Latin American countries, with approximately 22% of the population with income below the national poverty line.
Many communities in rural Panama are mainly comprised of subsistence-based farming families, particularly in indigenous areas. Land degradation, limited access to resources, high production costs, and low yields affect the production of high quality, nutritious food as well as a sustainable income. To mitigate these agricultural challenges, Volunteers in the Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) program collaborate with small-holder rural farmers—men, women, youth, and children—to improve their food security and the resiliency and sustainability of their livelihoods.
Volunteers collaborate with community members to identify and prioritize local needs, as well as co-plan strategies to address them. Part of this process involves identifying work partners, who may include model farmers, local artisans, local host country ministry technicians, and/or community leaders. Interaction might be one-on-one, as when working alongside a farmer in her kitchen garden, or in a group setting, as when co-teaching with a model farmer about better fertilization practices to the local coffee producers’ association.
Volunteers support their work partners in addressing agriculture production issues such as soil conservation, integrated pest management, or post-harvest management. For farmers exploring new income-generating activities, Volunteers may support them in growing cash crops such as vegetables or coffee or producing artisanal goods from local materials. Volunteers, in collaboration with work partners, address business topics such as budgeting or marketing to support these endeavors. Volunteers also support community-based groups to assess their own organizational capacity and co-create plans for improvement, coaching members on topics including strategic planning, communication, and leadership. Volunteers work alongside key household members to improve understanding of the importance of a diverse diet. This is done by introducing recipes from a nutritional standpoint and promoting healthy foods, particularly lesser-known agricultural or traditional crops.
A typical day might involve hiking several hours through the jungle to visit a farm and observe a new bicho (bug) that is eating the crops, mixing up a compost pile at the local school out of chopped banana plants and cow manure, trying out a new recipe with a woman’s group over a three-stone fire, or adding up farm costs with a family in a notebook as everyone tells stories at the end of the day.
During Pre-Service Training and throughout service, Peace Corps Panama provides learning experiences to strengthen Volunteers’ competencies, in areas such as sustainable agriculture techniques, basic business skills, nutritional information, and organizational management. The most important skill Volunteers need to be successful is the ability to communicate ideas clearly and to develop strong interpersonal relationships. Creativity in using locally available resources is also important. Volunteers must be prepared to be proactive, self-driven, and to motivate others.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture and one or more of the following criteria:
- Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
- 5 years' professional work experience