COLLEGE STATION – The Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, in conjunction with the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University, was awarded a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development to build partnerships between U.S. and Indonesian universities.
The three-year USAID Tropical Plant Curriculum project will be implemented through the Texas A&M University System’s horticulture department and Borlaug Institute in cooperation with three Indonesian universities — Institut Pertanian Bogor, Universitas Udayana and Universitas Sam Ratulangi.
According to the agreement, the project will focus on “increasing the understanding, preservation and utilization of the rich, biodiverse resources of Indonesia” while providing new livelihood opportunities for Indonesians. It also states that it will strengthen cooperation between the institutions involved, establish research to identify previously non-utilized plant compounds, and develop and implement university-led educational programs on natural resource conservation.
Coordinators said project efforts will help increase jobs, incomes, productivity and product quality in enterprises related to little-known or underutilized plants for human benefit.
“A major aspect of project efforts will revolve around identification of previously unknown, less understood or underutilized plants and plant materials throughout Indonesia that are of benefit human health and nutrition,” said Dr. Tim Davis, who will serve as project director.
“Partnering with Indonesian universities produces research and information of benefit to both sides,” said Davis, who is head of the horticulture department at Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in College Station. “Indonesia is a strategically important Southeast Asian country and a trading partner with the U.S. for many commodities, including agricultural commodities.”
Project developers said such partnerships are critically important to build scientific exchange, promote technology transfer, bolster channels of cultural communication and develop agricultural and economic opportunities.
“As the world’s third-largest democracy and fourth most populous country with 135 million people living on less than $2 a day, Indonesia’s future is challenging,” said Walter North, mission director for USAID Indonesia. “USAID has made a long-term investment in Indonesia’s future through a variety of programs, efforts and activities. This new USAID-funded project is expected to further benefit the Indonesian people, especially those living in rural forest areas.”
North said for decades USAID has been helping Indonesia meet economic and social challenges by investing in its people through enhancing education, supporting governmental and judicial reform, improving rural sector job opportunities and national economic policies, supporting health improvement programs, expanding natural resource management and conservation, and assisting with disaster relief and recovery.
“Indonesia is a country composed of thousands of islands and is a treasure-trove of natural resources vital for advancement in biological sciences,” said Dr. Edwin Price, director of the Borlaug Institute, who will serve as a project advisor. “But economic development poses a threat to these resources as ecosystems are encroached upon, and programs are needed to preserve biodiversity through better understanding.”
Price said the project was based on a consultation he and other faculty and staff of the Texas A&M University System held in Indonesia in early 2010 and builds on several previous international agriculture projects in Indonesia either led or supported by Texas A&M.
“The Borlaug Institute and Texas A&M AgriLife are committed to their long-term partnerships with Indonesian institutions, some of which stretch almost two decades, focusing on small-scale food industry development in that nation’s neediest communities,” he said. “Indonesia is a key partner in Southeast Asia’s agricultural development and also in promoting scientific exchange in tropical agriculture.”
Price said one of the Borlaug Institute’s prime examples of cooperation with Indonesian agricultural institutions was the establishment of the Southeast Asian Food and Agricultural Science and Technology (SEAFAST) Center at Institut Pertanian Bogor on Java. Most recently, nine Texas A&M faculty and staff led a USDA-funded delegation of U.S. university representatives who traveled to Indonesia in October to attend a conference with their Indonesian counterparts to map out a strategy for long-term collaboration.
Price added that it was partly due to the university’s long-term efforts in Indonesia, with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Asian Development Bank and USAID, that Texas A&M was recently chosen by the USDA and U.S. State Department to host a visit by a delegation of representatives from Indonesia’s agriculture ministry and its foremost academic institutions.
“The visit by these Indonesian officials and university personnel is part of the effort being undertaken in accordance with the agreement between President Obama and President Yudhoyono of Indonesia to form a comprehensive partnership between our countries,” he said.
Davis said the new curriculum project is an example of this sort of comprehensive partnership and will benefit both U.S. and Indonesian students and academic institutions.
“By enabling local communities to cultivate and market indigenous plants, they will be able to gain valuable livelihoods for their families and safeguard valuable species from destruction.” Davis said. “Through engaging students, researchers and local communities, biodiversity in Indonesia can be conserved for many generations to come, and we will learn and take away lessons which can be applied to agribusiness and environmental conservation efforts in the U.S.”
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The U. S. Agency for International Development: For nearly a half-century, USAID has been providing help to poor and developing countries worldwide through technical assistance, training, infrastructure improvement, food aid, small-enterprise loans and other means. The agency works in more than 100 countries, partnering with volunteer organizations, universities, businesses, international organizations, governmental and non-governmental groups, trade associations, faith-based organizations and others. The agency has working relationships with more than 3,500 American companies and more than 300 U.S.-based private voluntary organizations. For more information, visit http://www.usaid.gov .