We have met a few thousand people who have moved to another country to work with the poor. Many envisioned themselves giving practical help one-on-one, but now find that they have been asked to spend part or all of their time managing people, organizations and projects. Universities offer degrees in management, but the people who go to work with smallholder farmers rarely have had any training in management. Their work is even more challenging because they are working within at least two cultures.

We asked an experienced company leader, Calvin Yoke, to discuss this topic at the ECHO Agriculture Conference in 2003. It touched such a felt need that we used it to write an article for EDN called “Management Can be Learned.” Calvin Yoke wrote, “The area of management may seem foreign to many agricultural development workers, but good management can be an effective ministry. Most people spend the bulk of their hours under someone’s management. There is no greater opportunity than that provided by management to make a positive impact on the world and on the people that work ‘under’ you. EDN 82-1 .