Since the beginning, Pacific Ag has been involved with many successful agricultural extension projects in a variety of developing countries. Some recent projects include strawberry and vegetable production in the arid regions of Mexico, small fruit production in tropical Mexico and Central America, and western vegetable and fruit production technology transfer in India. While these projects have been ultimately funded by both public and private sectors, during the initiation stages Pacific Ag normally operates at no cost to the end user. In India, for example, small villages on the outskirts of major population centers are being shown how to produce high-cash crops such as lettuce, broccoli, celery, and strawberries. Formerly, steeped in traditional wheat production, these villages profited little from the sale of their crops. Our efforts there are to change this paradigm through training the skilled labor to produce higher value crops, and hence, higher wages for the benefit of the Indian economy overall.

Pacific Ag's new crop feasibility outreach program is both challenging yet highly rewarding abroad. The challenge comes from matching crop environmental requisites with local micro-climates. Strawberries, for example, may be grown in equatorial regions providing plantings are located at high elevations where evenings are cool and daytime temperatures are not limiting to quality fruit production. Other sensitive crops such as leaf lettuce and celery, wine and table grapes, and small berry crops such as raspberry and blueberry - all require specific environmental conditions for successful production. The crop experts at Pacific Ag have first-hand knowledge of field conditions and growing techniques from over 30 years of farming experience with North American growing technology. In addition to our technological contributions, our Indian operations emphasize sustainable agriculture and technologies appropriate to Indian culture.

Stay tuned for more updates on our international technology transfer programs.