USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Programs:
Faculty Exchange Program
The Faculty Exchange Program (FEP) enhances the teaching ability of agricultural educators from institutions of higher learning in developing countries. Participants come to the United States for one academic semester (4 months) to acquire new knowledge and enhance their ability to teach and build curricula at the university level. Since 1995, the program has provided training opportunities for hundreds of agricultural educators across the developing world. Program alumni play an integral role in training the next generation of scientists and policymakers to better understand the global agricultural marketplace and support science-based trade policies.
Scientific Exchange Program
The Scientific Exchange Program (SEP) promotes trade, trade policy, trade capacity building, and food security. The program aims to educate a new generation of agricultural scientists, increase scientific knowledge and collaborative research, and extend knowledge to users and intermediaries in the international agricultural marketplace. USDA may also use the program as a market development tool to assist in opening markets and decreasing or eliminating trade barriers, which ultimately increases and creates new opportunities for U.S. agricultural exports. Candidates must hold a minimum of a master’s-level degree, be in the early or middle stage of their career, and represent a university, government agency or research entity in their home country.
Borlaug Fellowship Program
The Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program promotes food security and economic growth by providing training and collaborative research opportunities to fellows from developing and middle-income countries. Borlaug Fellows are generally scientists, researchers, or policymakers who are in the early or middle stages of their careers. Each Fellow works one-on-one with a mentor at a U.S. university, research center, or government agency, usually for 8-12 weeks. The U.S. mentor will later visit the fellow’s home institution to continue collaboration. Fellows may also attend professional conferences and events within their field, such as the annual World Food Prize Symposium.
Cochran Fellowship Program
The Cochran Fellowship Program provides short-term training opportunities to agricultural professionals from middle-income countries, emerging markets, and emerging democracies. The goals are to help eligible countries develop agricultural systems necessary to meet the food and fiber needs of their domestic populations; and to strengthen and enhance trade linkages between eligible countries and agricultural interests in the United States. Fellows receive hands-on training to enhance their technical knowledge and skills in areas related to agricultural trade, agribusiness development, management, policy, and marketing.