InnovATE News

Political Instability and an Airport Fire: InnovATE Looks Back on its Inaugural Year

Posted on by

Article by Wangui Gichane and Edin Simms

Political Instability

Khin Mar Cho of Cornell University presents at the innovATE symposium.

“It was just one of those weeks. After months of preparation for an international conference in South Sudan on agricultural education in post-conflict environments, the event was called off due to political instability,” said Tom Hammett, director of the Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education (innovATE) program.


“We didn’t want to lose the opportunity to come together, so we decided to hold the workshop in Nairobi, Kenya instead. Then the international terminal at the airport there caught on fire. So the workshop was moved again to Kampala, Uganda. The third time was finally the charm! I can tell you that the meeting was worth all of the delays and setbacks.” Continue reading >

Meeting Market Demand for Graduates in Uganda

Posted on by

Article by Laina Schneider and Wangui Gichane

Graduates in Uganda 1

In Uganda, the rapid increase in production of crops like coffee and maize is creating heightened demand for professionals all along the agricultural value chain. To meet this demand, Makerere University’s Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics has been tasked with providing appropriate courses to ensure that graduates develop strong economic and analytical skills so that they can fill these roles. However, some of the programs are falling short. Continue reading >

Conservation Agriculture: Seeking Sustainability in Cambodia

Posted on by

Article by Laina Schneider and Wangui Gichane

Sustainability in Cambodia 1

Increasing food prices, climate change, water scarcity, and ecosystem degradation have significantly affected agricultural sustainability around the world. These impacts have hit especially hard in Cambodia, where agricultural production constitutes 90 percent of GDP. In a search for solutions to these challenges, development experts have suggested conservation agriculture as a viable option for producing desirable yields sustainably, while benefitting the environment. Continue reading >

InnovATE hosts symposium on advancing food security through agricultural education and training

Posted on by

Article by Edin Simms

When the average American is asked what they think are the causes of food insecurity around the globe, they might cite drought, pests, war, or poor government. What they may not realize is that the lack of an adequately trained agricultural workforce is one of the biggest constraints to achieving food security in developing countries. A Virginia Tech-led program working to improve education and training for agricultural professionals addressed this problem at an international symposium at the George Mason Inn in Fairfax, Virginia September 18-20. Continue reading >

A Life of Cultivation

Posted on by

Article by Edin Simms and Laina Schneider

Earlier in September, innovATE caught up with S.K. De Datta, an international agricultural expert, to learn about his work in agricultural research and education.

“My philosophy in life is to have a passion to excel so that your work benefits others,” says S.K. De Datta, retired associate vice president for international affairs and former director of the Office of International Research, Education, and Development.

De Datta, a rare combination of visionary and pragmatist, has devoted his life to battling food insecurity. He has done some other extraordinary things along the way as well. On a recent trip to Blacksburg, De Datta spoke with Edin Simms, program assistant for InnovATE, about his personal and professional accomplishments, life philosophy, and perspective on international development. Continue reading >

InnovATE holds post-conflict workshop in Kampala, Uganda

Posted on by

Article by Wangui Gichane

Symposium on Advancing Food Security 1

According to the Center on Conflict, Security and Development, 1 in every 4 people worldwide today—more than 1.5 billion people—live in fragile and conflict affected situations, and only 20 percent of conflict affected countries are expected to achieve the goal of reducing hunger and poverty by half by 2015. On August 20-22, two Virginia Tech-funded programs hosted a regional workshop in Kampala, Uganda on agricultural capacity building in post-conflict countries. Workshop participants shared their experiences in agricultural education and training development work in South Sudan and Sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading >

InnovATE presents at conference on “Africa Feeding Africa”

Posted on by

Article by Foster Whitaker and Edin Simms

“Agricultural competitiveness is a necessary catalyst for agricultural innovation. For Africans to feed Africans, their agricultural value chains have to be competitive locally and globally,” said Keith Moore after returning from speaking at Africa Agricultural Science Week. Earlier this summer African nations and their international partners came together in Accra, Ghana to discuss “Africa Feeding Africa through Agricultural Science and Innovation”, in a triennial conference on African agricultural development convened by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). Virginia Tech was represented by Keith Moore, Director of Performance Assessment at the Office of International Research, Education, and Development. Moore was invited by the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry, and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE) to speak on post-secondary education for agribusiness curriculum development. Continue reading >