Dr. Richard Edwards has done everything from helping redesign small rural meatpacking plants in Georgia to assessing small farmers in Africa and the former Soviet Union.
Most recently, he returned from a volunteer assignment in Mozambique, part of a project with CNFA, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to helping people and enterprises in the developing world.
The reason he volunteers, he said, is because he gets "an intrinsic satisfaction that maybe you are helping a little bit," as well as for the opportunity of traveling to places he would otherwise not go.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program, in which Dr. Edwards participated, is funded through the U.S. Congress, said Andrianne Konstas, program coordinator for CNFA, one of the organizations implementing it.
"It's really a way of helping promote U.S. agriculture as well as strengthening the markets in developing countries," she said.
"Dr. Edwards has been able to share his ideas and experience over many years to a community that is disenfranchised from the rest of the world and really make that link, whereas before they might have had to go through several steps," Ms. Konstas said.
During the 16-day assignment in Mozambique, Dr. Edwards, who started the four-year business program at Dalton State College, made recommendations that could help small farmers sell their products in larger markets.
But culture and limited resources can be the greatest challenges to implementing some of the recommendations, for both for the communities and the volunteers, Dr. Edwards said.
"If you are living in a rural area, you basically have to grow what you are going to eat, there are no sources of income," said the 73-year-old business specialist.
"The whole concept of what the market is and what it will do for me is a learning experience for them," he said.
Farmer-to-Farmer Program
* Through the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program in Southern Africa, CNFA uses targeted volunteer technical assistance to strengthen agricultural markets and improve productivity in Angola, Malawi and Mozambique.
* Over the five-year, $7.5 million program, it will use more than 310 volunteers to assist 100 host institutions and enterprises.
* Targets specific small farmers, entrepreneurs, cooperatives and associations.
* Each assignment builds upon previous work and complements other interventions.
* For volunteering opportunities, visit www.cnfa.org.
Source: CNFA
About Richard Edwards
* Born in Kokomo, Ind., in 1937
* Received bachelor of arts in industrial engineering from Purdue University in 1963
* Received master's in management from Georgia Tech in 1968
* Received his doctorate in business from the University of Georgia in 1978
* Participated in his first volunteer project in Poland in 1991
* Retired from Texas A&M Extension Service in 1999
* Started the four-year business program at Dalton State College in 1999
* Started working part-time at Dalton State College in 2004
* Married to Mary Edwards and has three children living in Texas
Follow this link to read an exclusive online Q&A with Dr. Richard Edwards