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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Educating Scientists for Management
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
http://www.usaid.gov
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2003-070
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2003
Science-based agriculture programs and rural development initiatives need educated scientists. Increasing the competitiveness of agriculture and accelerating rural progress in the largely agrarian developing world requires the application of science-based technologies and methods. Many agricultural scientists from the developing world earn their graduate degrees and gain research experience in industrialized nations, then return to their home countries to become key elements in accelerating development. These scientists forge important personal and scientific links between the industrialized and developing countries, and in many cases it is through their work that developing countries gain access to advanced technologies of all kinds. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds programs that support talented scientists who seek solutions to problems of producing, utilizing and marketing crops and livestock in and for the developing world.
Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs)
USAID-funded CRSPs have educated scientists in a wide range of agricultural disciplines since 1978. The CRSPs are communities of U.S. land grant universities working with developing-country national agricultural research systems (NARS), international agricultural research centers, U.S. agribusiness firms and associations, private voluntary organizations, developing-country colleges and universities, USAID headquarters and field missions, and other U.S. agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The objectives of the CRSPs are to help build sustainable capacity in the NARS of developing countries so that they can solve problems of agricultural production and use over the long term. The collaborative research and education of scientists in CRSPs benefits American agriculture, as well as agriculture in developing countries. In 2002, the CRSPs supported education of participants from countries across the globe.
Short-Term Training
In addition to their degree education programs, the CRSPs support short-term training and post-doctoral training of scientists from developing countries. Like the lengthier programs this interchange benefits the visiting scientists and the U.S. scientists who work with them, as well as the students' home countries.
Case Study: CRSPs Support to Mozambican Student Researchers
An initiative effort combining the Mozambican National Agricultural Research Institute (INIA), the USAID mission to Mozambique, and four of the nine CRSPs, 10 Mozambican agricultural researchers are currently earning Master of Science degrees in agricultural disciplines in the United States. Each student is supervised by an American principal investigator from one of the participating CRSPs (Bean/Cowpea CRSP, Sorghum/Millet CRSP, Peanut CRSP or Soil Management CRSP). The students' major fields of study include agricultural economics, entomology, integrated pest management, plant breeding, plant pathology, plant physiology, and soil fertility management. Upon completing their studies, the Mozambican scientists will return to INIA to do research directed toward solving problems of agricultural production, processing and marketing.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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