Hyderabad, July 21 (Inditop.com) The University of Florida (UF) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have decided to establish a distance education centre in Patancheru near here.
A letter of agreement was recently signed by ICRISAT Director General William D. Dar and Larry Arrington, UF interim senior vice president, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
This collaboration is designed to create opportunities to develop and strengthen regionally relevant training and education programs, said a statement by ICRISAT Tuesday.
A series of short courses will be offered by the UF faculty with the participation of ICRISAT scientists. The first set of courses will begin by the end of July and will deal with geo-physical information systems (GIS) in landscape analysis, analysis of bio-energy projects, soil and water science aspects in watershed development, crop modelling, and the use of geo-statistical data in environmental assessment.
“Capacity strengthening of professionals in the developing countries is an absolute must in the current context of new vulnerabilities and opportunities in agriculture and natural resources management. We consider this as a first step in bringing research universities such as UF closer to where the developing country professionals work,” said Dar.
Arrington believes that this initiative will contribute to strengthening UF’s presence in the South Asian region.
“We are pleased to partner with ICRISAT in this joint educational endeavour, which will help the UF build its presence in South Asia. This region is of great importance to our expanding international presence,” he said.
ICRISAT is working to strengthen the capacity of regional partners to promote improved food and livelihood security in the dry lands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
