The Hindu Business Line : USAID grant for Cornell varsity's India programme

THE US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $300,000 as a three-year grant to Cornell University to generate public-private sector links that will bolster agricultural productivity, exports and rural incomes in India.

Cornell will implement two development programmes. First, the university will offer a course, Agriculture in Developing Nations: India, in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years. The university will also develop an executive development programme in agricultural business management.

Cornell faculty members participating in the project include: Prof K.V. Raman (Principal Investigator), Associate Director of International Programmes in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Prof Ronnie Coffman, Chair of the Department of Plant Breeding and Director of International Programmes; Prof Janet Hawkes, Director of the Teach Us program in Education; Prof Rod Hawkes, Senior Extension Associate in Applied Economics and Management; Prof Peter Hobbs, Adjunct Professor in Soil and Crops Science; Prof Syed Rizvi, Professor of Food Science; Prof Robert Blake, Professor of Animal science; and Prof Terry Tucker, Associate Director of International Programmes.

To be implemented in partnership with Sathguru Management Consultants, Hyderabad, the programme will involve Indian universities, research institutions, national and State Governments and prominent agricultural-based companies.

The Agriculture in Developing Nations course will be taught at Cornell and at partner institutions in India, including the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, the University of Agricultural Sciences, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Co. Students in India and the US will be able to discuss issues and collaborate on relevant projects using Web and video streaming technology.

According to Prof Raman, each of the institutions has had a strong commitment to international education activities and has identified globalisation as a critical educational initiative. Cross-national and cross-sector interactions among programme participants will lead to innovative and unique initiatives and projects. This will increase participant knowledge and capabilities to succeed in today's global agricultural and economic environment.

The course will sensitise Indian and US students and policymakers on how to foment change in agricultural policy and technology to improve productivity, promote competitiveness and aid integration into a global economy.

For executives in both countries, the agri-business management programme will focus on technology transfer opportunities and issues in agriculture and food product commercialisation, food retailing and supply chain management and international food marketing standards and World Trade Organisation regulations.

The programme will build on previous collaborations between Cornell and India's public and private sectors.