International Programs
Agronomy Department Review
2012
University of Florida
Overview
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Student involvement
Scientific collaborations
Conferences and Meetings
International Center and IFAS International
Programs
• Individual Faculty Collaborations
• Funded Research - USAID
• Strengths, Vision and Weaknesses
Student Training
• Undergraduate internships/short term
scholars
– primarily Brazil and Central America
• Graduate student training
– Over 50 students since 2000
– All departmental areas
– 40-50% of agronomy students
– Wide range of countries and backgrounds
Visiting Scientists/Sabbaticals
• Spain, Poland, China, Japan, India, Ghana,
Brazil……….
• International Sabbatical Leaves
– Maria Gallo – Netherlands
– Barry Tillman – Queensland, Australia
– Rob Gilbert – EARTH Costa Rica
International Conferences
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International Crop Science Congress
International Grasslands Congress
International Weed Science Society
European Weed Research Society
Forage Breeding Symposium
Future Farm World Conference
Latin/South American Weed Science Society
Asian Pacific Weed Science Society
International Union of Forest Research
Organizations
University of Florida International
Center/IFAS International Programs
• Strong collaboration with UFIC
– Dean David Sammons – Agronomy faculty
– Peace Corps recruiting – Amy Panicowski
– Sandra Russo – Center for Women’s Studies
• IFAS International Programs – Walter Bowen
– Several projects in Haiti, Malawi, Tanzania,
Mozambique
– Interaction with CIAT, Winrock, others
Individual Collaborations
• Dr. Rob Gilbert - joint project with USDA and
EARTH University in Costa Rica for sugarcane
• Dr. Joao Vendramini - UF liaison, National
Agricultural Research Institute in Guyana and
the University Federal Rural of Pernambuco
Brazil
• Dr. David Wright - project director of student
and professor for Agricultural University in
Poznan, Poland
Individual Collaborations
• Dr. Lynn Sollenberger - University of Parana –
Brazil, reciprocal agreement
• Dr. Ken Langeland - Cuba’s Cienega de Zapata
invasive plants - Melaleuca quinquenervia
• Dr. Bill Haller - USAID Guatemala, hydrilla
problems in Lake Itzabal, the largest fresh water
lake in Central America
• Dr. Ann Blount - EMBRAPA, Brazil, UNNE,
Argentina, and several Caribbean universities on
breeding/evaluating tropical forages, agreement
with Quaker Oats
Individual Collaborations
• Dr. Ken Buhr - team leader “Enhancing Food
Security through Poverty Alleviation” for Save the
Children in Uganda and USAID-funded project for
the Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique
• Dr. Yoana Newman - training in Nicaragua with
Farmer-to-Farmer and the Florida Volunteer
Corps
• Dr. Fredy Altpeter - International Livestock
Research Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for
research on elephantgrass improvement
Individual Collaborations
• Dr. Ken Boote
– Peanut CRSP, over 15 years
– Asian Pacific Network Project - Climate and Agricultural Risk
Management in Hyderabad, India, Dhaka, Bangladesh and
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
– Mentored 4 Ph.D. graduate students with Khon Kaen University,
Thailand.
– USAID and ICRISAT crop growth modeling
– Agricultural Model Improvement and Intercomparison Project in
Campinas, Brazil, east Africa and South Asia
– 8 international training courses on crop modeling
– hosted 21 International Exchanges between himself and
scientists from several countries
– 24 international meetings since 2000.
Peanut Cooperative Research Support
Program (Peanut CRSP)
• USAID funded – peanut production and
utilization
• Dr. Ken Boote – crop modeling in western
Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Mali
• Dr. Barry Tillman - Bolivia cultivar selection for
disease resistance and works with USDAGriffin to facilitate germplasm exchange
Peanut CRSP
• Dr. MacDonald – University of Georgia, NGO’s
– rural growers in the Rupununi region of Guyana and
northern Haiti
– improved varieties, fertility, agronomic practices, and
pest management
– peanut butter based school feeding programs in
Guyana, where over 4000 students are provided a snack
each day throughout 47 villages in the region.
– In Haiti, peanuts are utilized to produce Medika-Mamba
for a local orphanage
– PhD Student, Alyssa Cho conducting graduate studies in
Guyana
Program Strengths
• Good collaborations
– Within the university through UFIC and IFAS
– Continued graduate student training
– Established working relationships with
international institutions
• Success with the Peanut CRSP program
• 7 international faculty within the department
Program Strengths
• Peace Corps – Masters International Program
– Established this spring
– 9 departments within College of Ag. & Life
Sciences
– Greg MacDonald is MI Coordinator
– Non-thesis Master’s degree
Vision
• Stronger collaborations with germplasm
exchanges – World Food Crops breeding
position
• Stronger presence with USAID and CRSP
programs
• Gates Foundation, others
• Peace Corps – MI program for graduate
student recruitment
Concerns
• Decreased funding and flexibility for international
programs
• CRSP model heavily scrutinized by USAID
• Feed the Future mandates – targeted countries
• No consolidated effort at the department or even
college level
• How does international work contribute to the
overall faculty packet?
• Can international work be more than a ticket item
for promotion?
Questions