AIT and Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and
Development expected
Professor Norman T. Uphoff, Professor of Government and International Agriculture and Director of Graduate Studies, Field of International Development, Cornell University, visited AIT on 19 July 2007 and conducted a seminar on 'System of Rice Intensification (SRI) - A New Paradigm for Agricultural Production and Participatory Development.'
Dr. Prabhat Kumar, Research Specialist in the Agricultural Systems and Engineering (ASE) field of study and, Ms. Abha Mishra, an AIT PhD candidate in the ASE, also shared some of her experiences on SRI during the seminar.
During his stay at AIT, Prof. Uphoff, and AIT President Said Irandoust, discussed ways in which there could be collaboration between Cornell and AIT. Professor Uphoff also put AIT in contact with his colleague Prof. Alice N. Pell, Director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development, who is currently engaged in several initiatives in Afghanistan.
The Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development, is providing university students with an appreciation of rural problems through a more hands-on practical experience approach to learning, and is working with Kabul University as well as universities in Balkh, Herat, Nangahar and Kandahar. In addition, the institute is also working with a couple of NGOs on village-level development projects in Wardak, Paktiya, Guldara, Kabul, Logar and Balkh. The aim is to develop links between development and the university projects so that students have the opportunity for direct
involvement in on-going developments. AIT and Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development are exploring areas in which there could be synergies, in particular with AIT's planned efforts and initiatives in Afghanistan.