Article by Wangui Gichane and Edin Simms
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.”
The year has indeed been busy for the USAID-funded program designed to improve the quality of the agricultural work force in developing countries. Thankfully, not all successful program events involved “acts of God.”
InnovATE released its 2013 Annual Report in December, showcasing its recent successes. Highlights include the post-conflict workshop mentioned above, in Kampala, Uganda. Practitioners from Liberia, Mozambique, and Rwanda shared lessons learned from working in post-conflict environments. The meeting served as a platform for developing strategies for rebuilding agricultural education in South Sudan.
InnovATE director, Tom Hammett leads a discussion group in Armenia.
In September 2013, the program hosted its first major public agricultural education and training event, an international symposium focusing on youth workforce development through vocational agricultural training, agricultural education in post-conflict environments, and gender equity. Participants looked at how these themes intersected with each other as well as other development concerns like infrastructure and nutrition. The meeting was the first such gathering in more than two decades to be held with USAID support.
InnovATE has also laid a foundation for working with the International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education in Armenia, to finds ways to sustain achievements made by the institution coming out of the Soviet Era. “The innovATE team is excited about this partnership. The center houses the leading agribusiness education and training institution in Armenia. We are looking forward to collaborating with them to strengthen their programs and the agricultural sector as a whole in Armenia and the region,” said Hammett.
To learn more about the work of the Innovation for Agricultural Education and Training Program is doing, check out the Annual Report at https://innovate.cired.vt.edu/official-reports.php.