University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
OFFICE
OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
|
University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences |
This report provides a summary of the Office of International Programs' (OIP) activities and accomplishments during the third quarter of fiscal year 2002-2003. It also highlights College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) participation in international research and development during this period.
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS GENERAL ACTIVITIES
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Mauritanian Delegation Visits OIP
The Office of International Programs played host on Wednesday, March 5th to three members of a delegation from Mauritania. Menny Ould Elbah and El Hadrami Ould Bahneine of the Ministry of Rural Development, and Assane Loumaré of the Agency for Urban Development, visited the UA March 3rd – 7th as part of an initiative launched by Mamadou Baro of the Bureau for Applied Research in Anthropology. Dr. Baro also served as translator for the group.
The delegation described their mission as a preliminary step in an effort to promote agricultural and urban development in Mauritania through ties with the UA and other institutions. Mauritania, like many developing nations, is troubled by drought and desertification. Therefore the group was very interested in learning about CALS capabilities in soil, range management, reforestation, irrigation, and water harvesting techniques suitable to an arid environment.
Dr. Amir Ajami, Associate Director of OIP, made a brief presentation describing CALS capabilities and OIP’s ability to coordinate any collaboration between Mauritania and CALS. Dr. Ajami hopes that the meeting will lead to a memorandum of agreement between the two.
The Mauritanian delegation also met with Dr. Martin Karpiscak, OALS, to discuss wastewater treatment, and attended a presentation on carbon sequestration by Dr. Chuck Hutchinson, OALS. Their visit ended with a meeting with Dean Eugene Sander.
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
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President of Peruvian Asparagus Institute Visits CALS Facilities
Guillermo van Oordt, President of the Peruvian Asparagus Institute, met with Dr. Kennith Foster at the Office of Arid Lands Studies on February 4th to request Foster’s assistance in arranging visits to CALS projects involving drip irrigation and greenhouse technology. Foster arranged for Van Oordt to visit the Maricopa Agricultural Center, where Dr. Edward Martin gave a guided tour of the research station that focused on irrigation systems and new crops. On February 5th Van Oordt and Foster met with Campus Agricultural Center Director Dr. Peter Ellsworth at the Center, and toured greenhouses and drip irrigation systems for table grapes. Van Oordt was very interested in greenhouse technology and irrigation systems at the center.
Peru produces circa 30% of the asparagus consumed in the U.S. The climate in Peruvian valleys provides ideal conditions for growing both green and white asparagus, and produces two crops per year. Most of Peru’s green asparagus crop is exported to the U.S.
Visiting Vice Chancellor from the University of North West, South Africa
Dr. Ngoato Takalo, Vice Chancellor of the University of North West in Mmabatho, South Africa, came to the UA campus on Wednesday, March 12th. The visit, organized by Dr. Sam Drake, was hosted by the Office of Arid Lands Studies. After lunching with Drs. Chuck Hutchinson, Stuart Marsh, Wim Van Leeuwen, and Amir Ajami, Dr. Takalo visited the Arizona Remote Sensing Center, Desert Research Unit, and Arid Lands Information Center at OALS. Dr. Takalo’s tour also included opportunities for discussion and exchange of ideas at the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering and the Wildlife and Fisheries Resources Program, SRNR.
Visitors from Tajikistan
Three representatives from Tajikistan visited the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences on Tuesday March 18th and Wednesday, March 19th. The Office of International Programs arranged for the group to visit the Maricopa Agriculture Center and meet with Center Director Dr. Bob Roth on Tuesday. On Wednesday they toured the Marana Agricultural Center with Dr. Dan Foster on Wednesday morning, lunched with Dr. Russell Tronstad and discussed agricultural marketing, and attended the afternoon session of the “Arizona Beef Cattle: From Conception to Consumer” workshop at the Campbell Ave. Center Meat Science Laboratory.
Hosted in Tucson by retired CALS professor Dr. Clyde Adams and Mrs. Tish Adams, the group from Tajikistan came to the U.S. for a three-week tour under the Economic Development in Agrarian Communities program, a part of the State Department’s International Visitor Program. The visit helped expose them to ideas about agriculture and rural development that could be used in Tajikistan.
ACTIVITIES
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The Future of the Consortium for International Development
The Board of Trustees of the Consortium for International Development met on March 28 by conference call to discuss the future of the consortium. The CID trustees approved a plan proposed by Dean Eugene Sander and supported by UA President Peter Likins to mothball CID. Under the plan, current CID projects will be closed. CID will be kept available for the future in case member universities want to use the not-for-profit corporation. The UA will store records, write letters to member universities as needed for dues, and notify the Chairman of the need for meetings. Each member university agreed to appoint one trustee and one alternate trustee. Dr. Kennith Foster was appointed Executive Director effective April 30, 2003.
PROJECT REFERRALS
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UA Water Resources Research Center Conference
The University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) presents Local Approaches to Resolving Water Resource Issues: What's Working, What Hasn't Worked, and Building on Existing Efforts, May 1 and 2, 2003 at the Prescott Resort in Prescott, Arizona.
Conference brochure and registration information are available at:
http://cals.arizona.edu/AZWATER/announcements/annc.html.
Early bird registration is $95 and must be in by April 1st. A limited number
of hotel rooms are available at the conference rate. Hard copies of the conference
brochure are available by contacting the WRRC at (520) 792-3124.
IALC Conference Proceedings Available
The proceedings are now available for the IALC conference and workshop, Assessing Capabilities of Soil and Water Resources in Drylands: The Role of Information Retrieval and Dissemination Technologies, held 20-25 October 2002 in Tucson, Arizona. The proceedings are on the IALC web site at http://ialcworld.org/conference/conference_proceedings.html and include all the papers in .pdf format, abstracts, and slide shows from the formal presentations and poster papers.
In addition selected papers are available in .html format in the Arid Lands Newsletter, published by the Office of Arid Lands Studies at The University of Arizona, at http://cals.arizona.edu/OALS/ALN/aln52/aln52toc.html.
PEACE CORPS
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| Number of Inquiries | 340 |
| Number of Applications Distributed | 65 |
| Number of Applications Received | 14 |
| Number of Applications on File | 15 |
| Number of Interviews Conducted | 11 |
| Total Nominations | 5 |
Activities:
January:
February:
March:
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For further information or to submit an item for a future Quarterly Report, please contact:
The University of Arizona
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Office of International Programs
P.O. Box 210436
Tucson, Arizona 85721-0436
Tel: (520) 620-9374
Fax: (520) 882-2980
Email: intagric@u.arizona.edu
Updated: 2 March 2004.
URL: http://cals.arizona.edu/oip/3rdquarter02.html
Copyright the Arizona Board of Regents 2004.