Cultivating Dialogue: A Comparative, Participatory Analysis of US
& Cuban Agricultural Cooperative Policies
Tuesday, March 22th, 2016
Abramson Family Founders Room, AU School of International Service
Co-sponsored by the AU School of International Service and
Center for Latin American & Latino Studies
PUBLIC FORUM AGENDA
8:45am-9:00am
Arrival and Coffee
9:00am-9:10am
Welcome
Eric Hershberg, Director, American University’s Center for Latin American
& Latino Studies
Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, Assistant Professor of Global Environmental
Politics at the School of International Service
9:10am-10:30am
Presentations
Topic: How have agricultural cooperatives fostered farmer livelihoods, nutritious food production, ecological
sustainability, and social justice in Cuba and in the US? What have been the challenges and limitations that
cooperative producers have faced in their respective countries, and how are cooperative dynamics currently changing?
How has Cuban and US policy supported and/or hindered cooperative production? What could US-Cuba trade
openings do to enhance agricultural cooperatives—and the resilience and diversity they afford?
Panelists:
Nora Ourabah Haddad, Coordinator & Sara Vicari, Consultant
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations,
Office of Partnerships, Advocacy, and Capacity Development
Carmen Diana Deere, Professor Emerita of Latin American Studies and
Food & Resource Economics – University of Florida
Mieke Meurs, Professor of Economics
American University
Fred Royce, Program Manager
Cooperative Agreement between University of Florida and University of
Havana
Julie Hogeland, Agricultural Economist
United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Business & Cooperative
Programs
Cornelius Blanding, President
Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Professor of Community Justice and Social
Economic Development – City University of New York
10:30am-11:00am
Questions & Discussion with Audience