Global Programs: News & Events
Activity Report: May - June 2006
- Office of Global Programs Activities
- Consortium for Internet Imaging & Database Systems (CIIDS)
- International Activities by CAES Department
- Peanut CRSP Activities
- International Visitors
Office of Global Programs Activities
TRAVEL REPORT FOR VICTORIA MCMAKEN
From June 4-7, Vicki McMaken, Assistant Director, was in Washington, DC to attend the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD) annual meeting. Certificate student Lydia Pettit Young was also in attendance. Lydia was one of fourteen US students, and the only undergraduate student, selected to receive an AIARD scholarship to attend the meeting and participate in the Future Leaders Forum. The meetings were focused on "Cultivating Peace: Agriculture in a World of Conflict and Violence.
CERTIFICATE STUDENTS GRADUATE
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Left: Allyson Barnes receives certificate from Ed Kanemasu. Center: Victoria LeBeaux receives award from Ed Kanemasu. Right: Sarah Lathrop milking at ISAB farm in France. |
Congratulations to our Certificate in International Agriculture students who graduated in May! Allyson Barnes graduated from the Honors Interdisciplinary Studies program with a focus on agricultural economics and political science. Ally completed her certificate internship in 2004, when she was selected to serve as an intern in the Georgia Department of Agriculture's International Office in Brussels, Belgium. Victoria LeBeaux graduated in May with a major in Economics, and minors in Agricultural Economics and Horticulture. Victoria completed her certificate internship in 2006 at the Institut Supérieur Agricole in Beavais, France (ISAB). Sarah Lathrop graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences. Sarah completed her certificate internship in France at ISAB in the summer of 2005.
CERTIFICATE STUDENTS ABROAD
Certificate Student and Horticulture major Ben Garland is in Costa Rica completing an internship at the EARTH University integrated organic farm. His internship project is titled "Indicators of sustainability of pig production in a free-range grazing system." After completing his ten-week internship at EARTH, Ben will complete the CAES Agroecology in Tropical America study abroad course led by Drs. Wayne Parrot and Mark Rieger. Certificate student and Romance Languages major Katie Jaeger is at ISAB in Beauvais, France completing her internship along with Victoria LeBeaux, majoring in Economics with minors in Agricultural Economics and Horticulture. During their time in France, Victoria and Katie are completing a three-week course on French and European Agriculture and working for five weeks at an agronomy lab and dairy farm, respectively. Whitney Linnenkohl, Animal and Dairy Science and Lori Shapiro, Entomology, Biology and Ecology, are at Zamorano University in Honduras completed their internships. They are participating in a ten-week program at Zamorano that includes Spanish instruction, rotations throughout the Zamorano campus and travel in Honduras. Both Whitney and Lori are currently involved in some community development projects off-campus.
Stuart McKinney, majoring in Agroscience and Environmental Systems at the Tifton campus is in Freising, Germany participating in the FIPSE-EU student exchange project in Precision Agriculture led by Dr. George Vellidis. Stuart is learning German and working on a project to develop and test a small wireless LAN network. Certificate student Kira Tolla is in Ecuador this summer interning with the Jatun Sacha Foundation on the Galapagos Islands and the Maquipucuna Foundation in the cloud forest north of Quito. During her internship, Kira will be working on various conservation projects related to exotic species removal, introduction of native species and shade-grown organic coffee production.
Left: Lori Shapiro identifying insects at Zamorano University in Honduras. Right: Whitney Linnenkohl (in green) harvesting Tilapia at Zamorano in Honduras. |
DR. CARLA RONCOLI HOSTS ITALIAN VISITOR
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Dr. Tiziana De Filippis and Dr. Carla Roncoli |
With support from Italy's National Research Council short mobility program, Dr. Tiziana De Filippis, researcher at the Institute of Bio Meteorology (IBIMET-CNR) of Florence, Italy participated in an international workshop on DSSAT held at the Griffin Campus from May 15 to 24. During her visit she held meetings with Dr. Ed Kanemasu, Director of Global Programs, Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom, of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Dr. Carla Roncoli, Assistant Research Scientist Global Programs, to discuss possibilities for IBIMET-UGA collaboration. Dr. De Filippis presented the activities carried out by IBIMET in West Africa, including a ten-year initiative, conducted in collaboration with AGRHYMET Center in Niamey, Niger and funded by EU countries and WMO, to develop early warning tools for cereal production at various spatial scales. The outcome of this activity is a Food Crises Prevention Calendar (CPC), a methodological environment which integrates cartographic, biophysical and socio-economic data, models and analyses to monitor key variables that affect food security in the region and to evaluate the impacts of extreme events on livelihood vulnerability. Agrometeorological models and vulnerability analysis are supported by a Data Base Management System, customized GIS software and its geo-database for nine Sahelian countries. These applications, which are made available free of charge by IBIMET, are primarily directed to policy makers and decision makers to support emergency response and medium- and long- term planning of development programs, but are also extremely useful tool for researchers.
Consortium for Internet Imaging & Database Systems (CIIDS)
FUNDING APPROVED FOR DDDI PROGRAM IN HONDURAS
In April a proposal was made to the Office of Higher Education to fund a DDDI program in Honduras. The application was subjected to rigorous evaluation and peer-review process. The proposal requesting $107,757 was approved by the Office for Higher Education Development. The project combines the resources and good will of UGA, Honduras Outreach, the University of Zamorano and USAID-Honduras.
The primary goals of the project are to increase economic growth and to reduce poverty by increased productivity in rural areas of Honduras. The project will promote plant protection through the use of Distance Diagnostic through Digital Imaging (DDDI) as well as increase training and access to modern digital technology and information by rural Honduras extension agents and farmers.
CAES HOSTS OIRSA VISITORS
On May 17-19, the College hosted representatives of Organismo Internacional Regional de Sanidad Agropecuria (OIRSA), the agriculture regulatory agency for nine Central America countries. Dean Scott Angle and Oscar Manuel Gutierrez, Executive Director of OIRSA, signed a letter of intent with UGA to pursue DDDI projects and student exchange opportunities. In addition, meetings were held with CIIDS representatives; Ed Kanemasu, Director of Global Programs; Phil Brannen, Plant Pathology; Steve Nickerson, Animal & Dairy Science; and Rakesh Singh, Food Science.
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Left: Dean Angle and OIRSA Executive Director Gutierrez sign agreement. Right: OIRSA Luncheon. |
International Activities by CAES Department
Agriculture and Applied Economics
BILL GIVAN VISITS BULGARIA
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Dr. Bill Givan, Professor, visited Trakia University, BulgariaDr. Bill Givan, Professor, visited Trakia University, Bulgaria in June and met with Dr. Valentin Katsarov, Head of Pig Production and Director of Extension Service at Trakia. Pig production is very important in Bulgaria and provides one-half of all meat consumed there. While in Bulgaria, Dr. Givan visited a pig farm in Ahioli Village and constructed a budget to help evaluate profitability of production under different feed costs and market conditions. Dr. Givan also taught two sessions of a "Pig Production" class and discussed variable and fixed costs in budget analysis
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LUANNE LOHR TRAVELS TO GERMANY AND SPAIN
Luanne Lohr teaching in Germany |
On May 10-24 Dr. Luanne Lohr, Associate Professor, traveled to University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany to teach organic food marketing in the Masters program in organic food supply management. There, she met with international outreach coordinator and the Dean of Agriculture to discuss student and faculty exchanges between UGA and the University of Hohenheim.
On June 18-22, Dr. Lohr traveled to the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Zaragoza, Spain to participate in an ad hoc committee to set up a one-week post-graduate professional training course in organic food marketing for Mediterranean countries and businesses. Travel for this project was funded by the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, an umbrella group representing research centers and professional training in 13 countries.
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TIMOTHY PARK TRAVELS TO GERMANY
On May 19-24, Dr. Timothy Park, Professor, traveled to University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart Germany to discuss research collaboration on organic food retailing with faculty from UGA and from Swiss organic research institute, FIBL.
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WOJCIECH J. FLORKOWSKI HOSTS KOREAN VISITOR
Ed Kanemasu, W.J. Florkowski and In-Kyu Lee |
In April, In-Kyu Lee, Researcher from the Rural Development Administration, in Suwon City, Republic of Korea, arrived for a four month visit to UGA. The visit is the result of the agreement between RDA and UGA and the grant provided by RDA to support research activities and exchange of scientists between the two institutions. In-Kyu Lee is working with W.J. Florkowski, Professor and C. Escalante, Assistant Professor.
Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication
RICHARD ROHS CONDUCTS WORKSHOPS IN CHINA
Dr. F. Richard Rohs teaching in China |
Dr. F. Richard Rohs, Professor and Extension Specialist, spent two weeks in May, in the People's Republic of China conducting workshops on program evaluation as part of UGA's Sino-American Joint Training and Municipal Outreach Program in Public Administration. Forty young, progressive, government officials and public servants who work in a variety of municipal and regional government offices participated in this program. The workshops were taught at two locations in China, the first at Tianjin Administrative College in Tianjin and the second at the Jiangxi Administrative Institute in the city of Nanchang. In the fall, these trainees will visit UGA and other parts of the United States for Phase II of the program coordinated by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
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Department of Animal and Dairy Science
IGNACY MISZTAL VISITS DELIVERS SEMINARS IN FRANCE
In June, Ignacy Misztal, Professor, was a guest of INRA (Castanet and Jouy-en-Josas), in France. He gave three seminars including Animal Breeding Research at UGA and Issues in Commercial Use of Molecular Markers for Genetic Selection, and taught a short course on computing methods in animal breeding. He held discussions on genetic canalization, dairy and pig breeding.
Food Science and Technology
ROMEO TOLEDO RECEIVES A FULBRIGHT AND HOSTS INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
Dr. Romeo Toledo, Professor, was awarded a Fulbright Technical Specialist Award to work with faculty and students at the Universidad Tecnica de Ambato, Ecuador on foreign collaborative research projects and curriculum improvement. Dr. Toledo was also given a travel grant from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain to work with faculty and students of the Faculty of Food Science and Technology on research related to high pressure food preservation in June and July.
In May and June, Dr. Hyun Dong Lee, National Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Korea and Mr. Carlos Saenz Rodriguez, Universidad Autonoma of Chihuahua, Mexico visited UGA to work with Dr. Toledo.
Horticulture
Marc van Iersel (right) with his host, Francesco Montesano, in the Pollino mountains in Southern Italy |
MARC VAN IERSEL GIVES WORKSHOP IN ITALY
Dr. Marc van Iersel, Professor, traveled to Italy in May, where he was invited to participate in a workshop on subirrigation in greenhouses. Limited water availability and poor water quality are serious problems in the Mediterranean basin, and subirrigation is a possible way to minimize the impact of these problems.
The topic of Dr. van Iersel's presentation was fertilizer management in subirrigation systems. This workshop was organized by the University of Bari (Italy) and attracted researchers from across Italy, as well as many students from the University of Bari.
Following the workshop, Dr. van Iersel traveled around southern Italy with Francesco Montesano, a former exchange student in the horticulture department.
ITALIAN EXCHANGE STUDENT HOSTED BY DR. VAN IERSEL
Giulia Camerata Scovazzo seeding tomatoes for her research on salinity effects on tomatoes |
Giulia Camerata Scovazzo, an exchange student from the University of Palermo in Sicily, Italy, recently finished her three-month visit to the Horticulture department. Scovazzo came to UGA to do research with Dr. Marc van Iersel, Professor. While working at UGA, Scovazzo investigated whether calcium fertilization can be used to minimize the detrimental effect of salt on hydroponic tomatoes. The presence of salt in irrigation water is a common problem around the world, and especially in the Mediterranean. This exchange program was part of Scovazzo's Ph.D. studies at the University of Palermo.
Plant Pathology
TIM BRENNEMAN VISITS NICARAGUA
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Dr. Tim Brenneman and colleagues at the volcano in Nicaragua |
Dr. Tim Brenneman, Professor traveled to Nicaragua where he reported to the Peanut Growers Association on a joint project with UGA. Dr. Brenneman and Joao Augusto, a Ph.D. student in Plant Pathology, have just completed the first year of a three-year project. Approximately 30 individual research trials were completed, and the growers were very pleased with the preliminary results. One of the trials was at the base of a volcano.
Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department
BILL TOLLNER ATTENDS MEETING IN ITALY
Dr. Bill Tollner attended the Pond Dynamics Aquaculture CRSP project meeting, held in conjunction with the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) meeting in Florence, Italy on May 8-14. He met with African and Central American colleagues at the pond dynamics project meeting. Attendees discussed the growing optimism that there will be an opportunity for another work plan, the fact that a no-cost extension for the coming year is highly likely and how environmental concerns are beginning to take their rightful place in the research agenda.
Entomology
NEW MAYMESTER IN COSTA RICA ON INSECT NATURAL HISTORY
Service learning and study abroad opportunities are critical components of UGA undergraduate programs because they create an environment of active academic engagement. The Department of Entomology's teaching and service learning program launched a new international program this Maymester by offering Insect Natural History (ENTO 3140) in Costa Rica. Seven students participated in the course which was designed to enable science majors to obtain a meaningful field biology experience while enhancing their awareness of global, environmental, and cultural issues. Public outreach experiences for the course included providing insect collections to local Costa Rican schools and participating in a local outreach at Athfest Kidsfest where students in the course showcased the exotic insects they collected in Costa Rica.
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Entomology students in Costa Rica |
PAUL GUILLEBEAU VISITS IRELAND FOR WORK ON GLOBAL AG ASSESSMENT
In June, Dr. Paul Guillebeau, Professor met with the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), in Cork, Ireland. He is a lead author for the North America-Europe Sub-global Assessment. IAASTD encompasses a unique international effort that will evaluate the relevance, quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (AKST); and effectiveness of public and private sector policies as well as institutional arrangements in relation to AKST.
The IAASTD is a three-year collaborative effort (2005-2007) that will assess AKST in relation to meeting development and sustainability goals of: reducing hunger and poverty, improving nutrition, health and rural livelihoods and facilitating social and environmental sustainability. The project is a major global initiative, developed out of a consultative process involving 900 participants and 110 countries from all regions of the world.
Peanut CRSP Activities
Sara Gremillion, postgrad in Plant Pathology in a plot of peanuts in Bolivia. She is completing her thesis now and used both Bolivia and Georgia as experimental sites. |
In March and April, Tim Williams, Senior Research Scientist for the Office of Global Programs, developed and submitted a program extension proposalfor $ 2.7 million to cover activities for the next 15 months. This required supplementary work plans for each project and budgets to match that activity.
He also participated in the AMA RFA conference in Washington DC. Williams traveled to Bolivia for discussions with ANAPO and the USAID mission there. The CRSP project in Bolivia has achieve great results; with our partners now being designated the national center for peanuts. In the USA a variety with multiple diseases resistances derived from Bolivian germplasm is being prepared for release to farmers; companion varieties have been released in Bolivia.
Williams joined a team from the Fullbelly Project (www.fullbellyproject.org) in making a presentation to President Carter about the Concrete Peanut Sheller that was developed by Jock Brandis in North Carolina. The presentation is now being extended in many countries, particularly the Philippines and Uganda.
Williams spent a lot of time in March and April coordinating the CRSP programs and researching the Title XII legislation and USAID policy documents to be able to address differences of opinion relating to the management of these programs.
International Visitors
KIM DIEHL OF ZAMORANO UNIVERSITY VISITS UGA
On May 19th, Kim Diehl, Coordinator of the Office of International Education at Zamorano University in Honduras visited UGA. Kim was hosted by the Office of Global Programs. While on campus, she met with the Office of International Education staff, CAES Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and CAES Department Heads and faculty to discuss a CAES semester study abroad program at Zamorano.
ARMENIAN BORLAUG FELLOWS SPEND ONE MONTH AT UGA
Amenian Borlaug Fellows (from left) Artak Khachatryan, Gayane Marmaryan and Kristina Shekoyan. |
From April 30-May 30, UGA's Office of Global Programs hosted three Armenian scientists under the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program. Artak Khachatryan, Rural Development Programs Specialist for the Center for Agriusiness and Rural Development (CARD) in Armenia, participated in training related to sheep breeding, dairy processing and market analysis. Artak was mentored by Vahe Heboyan, UGA Agricultural & Applied Economics, Dave Thomas, University of Wisconsin Animal Science, and Young Park, Fort Valley State University Animal and Food Sciences. Gayane Marmaryan, Ph.D. candidate at the Armenian State Agrarian University, participated in training related to goat breeding and genetic selection. Gayane was mentored by Romdhane Rekaya, UGA Animal & Dairy Science and Govindarajan Kannan, Fort Valley State University Animal Science. Kristina Shekoyan, Senior Researcher at the Center for Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Sciences in Armenia, participated in training related to PCR analysis. Kristina was mentored by Clay Lents, UGA Animal and Dairy Science.