– Franklin Alonso Cortez
As an experienced agronomist, Franklin plays a leading role in the technical assistance that we provide to hundreds of small land-holder farmers in Nicaragua. Franklin comes with ample experience in the field of ecologically sustainable agriculture and has helped our team to be more responsible in teaching what we term «Eco-Friendly» agricultural practices which keep the the soil and the environment in healthy balance. As a La Semilla agronomist, Franklin is responsible to help a group of producers (currently 80 farmers in 16 villages) to understand and implement the technologies that we promote that lead to better yields and more sustainable incomes. At the same time, we want modern technologies to support positive change in how we care for our soils. This includes – Integrated Pest Management Systems, crop rotation, proper crop protection product selection and implementation, crop residue management, among other practices. Franklin is a young man firm in…
Ariel Rafael Gutierrez
Ariel Rafael Gutierrez is our 25 year-old ag technician from the community of Pio XII. Ariel has a young family – his wife Roxanna and his one year old son Liam. Although he grew up in more of an urban community, Ariel has loved agriculture from a young age, having spent many days of his youth on the small farm operated by his grandparents. Ariel has completed a three year ag-technician course to be able to begin work with La Semilla, and is currently in year three of another three year program to achieve his agriculture studies degree from UNIAV (Universidad Internacional Antonio de Valdivieso) in RIVAS. As for most university students, education means sacrifice, and Ariel is working hard to achieve his life goals. He works 5 ½ days a week at La Semilla as an agriculture extension worker, and every other weekend travels the 2 hours journey to…