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The Peace Corps needs more agricultural volunteers to serve overseas, says Scot Roskelley, spokesman for the Peace Corps’ Chicago regional office, which recruits volunteers from Ohio.

"Currently, there are about 10 people from Ohio assigned to agricultural posts, but we could use many more. Trained agriculture volunteers are always the toughest to find, and when we don’t find enough, there are communities who have put in requests for agricultural volunteers who go without," he said.

Peace Corps assignments are 27 months in length. All living expenses, including health and dental are paid. At the conclusion of the 27 months, volunteers are given a $6,075 readjustment allowance. Roskelley said it’s never too late to join the Peace Corps, explaining that the oldest volunteer right now is 82 years old.

Ohioans are scattered across the globe helping out with agriculture projects. For instance, 24-year-old Raicine Perry of Cleveland is in San Rafael in the province of Carchi in Ecuador teaching a group of 25 Mestizo women (part Spanish, part Indian) how to grow things such as carrots, beets, broccoli, peanuts and cabbage – something that is new to them and consequently is being called an "experimental project."

"I’ve also been working with this women’s group on the importance of deworming their animals, teaching them how to give dewormer injections," she explained. "I have learned to have patience. I don’t think I had any when I arrived!"

Reflecting on her Peace Corps experience since, she said, "In the Peace Corps, you are important, appreciated and making a huge positive impact on people’s lives. There is nothing like being able to come to a developing country that is maybe years behind on new techniques and helping the people improve their knowledge base and skills."

Quani Belul, 43, from Brookfield,Ohio, is helping farmers in Madagascar (an island off the east coast of Africa) improve their rice growing methods. In addition, he is creating an eco-tourism Web site for western Madagascar and setting up a model site at his home that includes an organic garden, grafted manioc, composting toilet and solar food dryer. He has a tutor to help him perfect his Malagasy and French and makes his way around the village by foot and on bicycle.

"My water comes from a nearby tap, which I then filter. I might have electricity, but only from noon to midnight as it comes from the town generator," he said. "This is my second time as a volunteer. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali previously. Through my Peace Corps experience, I certainly have become more adept at living simply and have learned a great deal about forestry, agriculture, etc." Previously, he worked on several farms back in the United States.

Tom Keller, 24, of New Weston, Ohio, works in Moldova (sandwiched between the Ukraine and Romania) at the nonprofit organization Agroconsultant in a town called Donduseni. He assists farmers in writing business plans, developing web sites, learning useful computer programs and in marketing, a relatively new concept in this former Soviet bloc country.

"I have been involved in agriculture all my life. I grew up helping my father with the chores of planting and harvesting as well as raising pigs. I spent most of my high school years working on a neighbor’s dairy farm outside of the chores of the family farm. I was also very involved in my high school's FFA chapter. With this rich experience and a desire to further my education, I chose agribusiness and applied economics as my major at Ohio State University where I received my undergraduate degree," he said.

Keller’s training in agribusiness is serving the Peace Corps and the people of Moldova quite well.

"Hopefully, we can boost the number of ag volunteers from Ohio even more," Roskelley said. Peace Corps information sessions are conducted in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Athens periodically throughout the year, he said. A complete schedule of Peace Corps informational meetings is on the Peace Corps Web site at www.peacecorps.gov.

Caption: (Left)Tom Keller is an Ohioan who offers business advice to farmers in Moldova. Photo courtesy Peace Corp. (Right) Caption: Ohioan Rai Perry (foreground) teaches villagers in Ecuador how to grow vegetables. Photo courtesy Peace Corp.