【News】SPROUT Project International Cooperation Highlight: Taiwan-U.S. Agricultural Youth Exchange Came to A Successful End
- category : Other
- date : 2024-04-30
- views : 514
Translator: Zih Syuan Yang (Shana Yang)
In 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) resumed the Taiwan-U.S. Agricultural Youth Exchange Program that has been interrupted for years due to the pandemic. National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) received the resource provided by MOFA given the long-term collaboration experience between the Department of Applied Economics in Agriculture and Natural Resources College of NCHU and the Department of Agricultural Economics of Kansas State University (KSU) and fruitful achievements reached throughout the exchange. With the joint promotion by National Chung Hsing University College of Agricultural and Natural Resources and Office of International Affairs and the strong support by Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) and Kansas State University College of Agriculture, NCHU and KSU had mutually sent research team consisted of teacher and students for exchange visiting from November 18th to 25th, 2023 and March 30th to April 6th, 2024 respectively. Not only has it stimulated both delegations the understanding of difference agriculture industry, broaden the international horizon of student delegates, but also laid the foundation for future student exchange, dual-degree program and more academic exchange.
To further deepening the relations with midwest states of U.S. and providing interaction platform for Taiwan and U.S. youths, MOFA has held Taiwan-U.S. Agricultural Youth Exchange Program for years. The mutual visiting of NCHU and KSU is coordinated by Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver. The six NCHU participating students major from international agribusiness to biotechnology, food science and biotechnology. Under the Office of International Affairs’ arrangement, NCHU students accompanied the six KSU students to cacao farm, organic tea farm and passion fruit farm in Nantou, cherry tomato and guava farm in Chiayi, and World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) in Tainan as well. Cultural and ecological experience included historical Da Dao Cheng, Dihua Street, Chikan Tower; famous National Palace Museum; the beautiful Sun Moon Lake and Gaomei Wetland. The delegates also visited NCHU Animal Experiment Station, Food Processing Plant, Horticultural Experiment Station, and Huisun Experimental Forest Station to know more about livestock farm equipment and operation. They also experience making pineapple cakes and green tea, exploring abundant forestry resource and diverse ecology. The 8-day trip allowed American students to fully experience the most beautiful natural landscapes and customs of Taiwan as well as the rich and diverse agricultural development and also the advantages of NCHU in agriculture field.
Assigned by College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, a group of students from NCHU, led by Associate Professor Hsin-I Chiang from the Department of Animal Science, embarked on a return visit to Kansas, U.S. on March 30th. They visited various facilities including the animal and agronomy experimental fields, meat processing plants, wheat innovation research center, Manhattan cattle auction trading center, A&H Farm, Vermilion Valley Equine Center, Lazy Heart D Bison Ranch, Hildebrand Farm Dairy, NextGen Beef Company, and the state legislature in Topeka, where they were greeted by State Senator Usha Reddi and other representatives.
During the visit, Chen Ning, a doctoral student in the Department of Applied Economics of NCHU, who is collaborating on research projects related to animal health economics and livestock economics at Kansas State University through Ph.D. Students Study Abroad Program granted by National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), actively assisted in reception and participated in activities after learning about the visit of his alma mater's faculty and fellow students. Together, they delved into understanding the agricultural industry in Kansas and how agricultural exports from Kansas benefit both sides.
In 2023, Kansas exported $193 million in agricultural products to Taiwan and Taiwan was the sixth-largest agricultural trading partner of Kansas. Through the Taiwan-U.S. Youth Exchange Program, establishing a platform for academic and industrial network exchanges will further facilitate bilateral agricultural trade. Through mutual visits and learning in this exchange program, students from both universities can not only experience the characteristics and cultures of different countries and their agricultural economies, understand the investment and importance of agricultural education in both places, observe the potential and diversity of different agricultural enterprises, face various issues related to different agricultural products from production, processing, to marketing, but also expand their international horizons through this precious international exchange.
The fruitful results of this Taiwan-U.S. Agricultural Youth Exchange Program will become an important cornerstone for the future development of more diversified exchange and cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, as well as that between NCHU and Kansas State University.
KSU students met Consul General Chang for Department of North American Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Professor Chien-Teh Chen from NCHU Department of Agronomy shared his knowledge of tea with KSU students.
Taiwan delegates visited NextGen Beef Company in Kansas State.
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