USDA Awards $500,000 to Texas A&M University
U.S. Department of Agriculture
WASHINGTON, D.C. (News Release) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is awarding $500,000 to Texas A&M University’s Norman Borlaug Institute to establish and teach school-based programs in Guatemala through the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program (IAEFP), administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
“The Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University will recruit, train and deploy up to nine U.S. fellows to serve as educators and extension agents in Guatemala,” said FAS Administrator Daniel Whitley. “Each fellow will incorporate classroom instruction, field demonstrations, entrepreneurship projects, and leadership development, to help meet the food and fiber needs of Guatemalan communities – objectives that align with the Administration’s priorities for addressing the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle region of Central America, the USDA’s priority to tackle global food and nutrition insecurity, and the Borlaug Institute’s mission to elevate small-holder farmers out of poverty and hunger.”
Each IAEFP Fellow will spend up to 10 months in Guatemala during the 2022-2023 school year teaching agricultural skills and training youth at secondary schools and rural communities – activities that also support the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy. While on the ground, fellows will collaborate with existing U.S. Government projects to ensure synergy and to maximize benefits across programs.