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Jun 27, 2013
Several Qualified State Soybean Boards (QSSB) that fund ASA’s WISHH program sent grower leaders on a one-week mission to Guatemala and Nicaragua this week. WISHH Committee Vice Chair Andy Welden (Mich. QSSB and ASA Board member) and Committee members from Iowa Dean Coleman and Randy Van Kooten.
The delegation joined WISHH Executive Director Jim Hershey and Program Manager-Latin America & Pakistan Liz Hare in meetings with importers of U.S. soy on Wednesday in Guatemala City. Also participating in the mission were Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) Board members Paul Rasmussen and the ISA Soy Ambassadors.
Isabelle Bosch, Chair of Guttierez Foundation and former Rotary District Governor in Guatemala, Liz Hare Program Manager Latin America & Pakistan for WISHH and the World Soy Foundation, and a local Rotary official listen to the closing remarks delivered by Guatemala’s First Lady, Rosa Maria Leal de Perez. (WISHH photo)
National Soybean Research Lab’s Bridget Owen and her staff helped arrange part of the trip and made a presentation about soy dairy technology at a nutrition conference sponsored by Guatemala Rotary, NSRL, WISHH and the World Soy Foundation.
While Guatemala imports thousands of tons of U.S. soy protein for use in an array of food products, 50 percent of Guatemalan children suffer from stunting.
"Our soy does a lot of good here, but there is clearly more opportunity and need," said Welden.
