Iraq Agricultural Extension Revitalization (IAER)
Project Description
The Texas A&M Consortium is made up of five land grant universities who are highly specialized in arid-land agriculture & water resources. They are University of California-Davis, New Mexico State Univ., Texas A&M University, Utah State University and WSU. The consortium is designing and coordinating logistical arrangements for a comprehensive agricultural extension education program for the agricultural colleges of Iraq.
The three primary objectives are:
- stakeholder cooperation between agricultural colleges, governmental agricultural and extension agencies;
- university capacity in the form of an integrated modern extension curriculum so techniques & technology can be delivered to extension professionals & rural communities throughout Iraq;
- extension training and support for faculty & senior extension professionals to return to their regions & provide extension courses to local extension professionals and agricultural communities.
The consortium will also initiate activities to supplement the three primary objectives. An on-line distance learning system will be set up to provide continued cooperation & support from the land grant community to the agricultural colleges in Iraq. Specialty courses will be provided to scientists & faculty in topics of irrigation engineering, advanced water management, arid crop pest control, arid crop genetics, & international meat marketing. Private sector partnerships will be promoted by inviting industry into the training rooms to demonstrate their capabilities for helping rural communities develop strong production capacities.
We envision the IAER program will be a catalyst for change throughout the Iraqi agricultural system. IAER will encourage cooperation between the agricultural colleges of Iraq, the agricultural extension agencies, farming associations, & rural communities. It will create institutional capacity to effectively deliver solutions to problems facing Iraq’s agricultural system. The process will create a platform for follow-on projects to address macro issues of Iraq’s agricultural system such as government funding, ministerial resources, & rural credit resources. By establishing these linkages, it is hoped the program will act as a model for future cooperation between USDA, the agricultural colleges of Iraq, & the government of Iraq. In addition, long-term cooperation will be established between the partner US land grant universities & the target Iraqi agricultural colleges.
Duration
2007-2010
Clients and Partners
- Texas A&M Consortium
- University of Jordan
- Jordan University of Science and Technology
- Hashemite University
Funding Agency
- USDA/CSREES
WSU Contact Person
Dr. Chris Pannkuk
pannkuk@wsu.edu
Dr. John Winder
jwinder@wsu.edu
Dr. William Pan
wlpan@wsu.edu