Cochran Fellowship Program

Since 1984, the Cochran Fellowship Program has provided middle-income countries and emerging democracies with market-oriented agricultural training in the United States. Training targets the needs of senior and mid-level specialists and administrators concerned with agricultural trade, agribusiness development, management, policy and marketing from the public and private sectors.  The objectives of the program are to strengthen U.S. agricultural trade and market development opportunities to help countries build their capacities to trade globally.  Since its start in 1984, the Cochran Fellowship Program has provided training for over 12,000 international participants from 101 countries worldwide.

Borlaug Fellows Program

The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science & Technology Fellows Program (Borlaug Fellows Program) was established by USDA in March 2004 to honor Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. The Borlaug Fellows Program provides 4 to 8 week collaborative research and training programs for entry to mid-level international agricultural scientists, university faculty and policymakers from select developing and middle income countries.  Fellows are matched with mentors who coordinate formal training at U.S. land grant universities, USDA and other government agencies, international agricultural research centers, private companies, and/or not-for-profit institutions.  Upon conclusion of the Fellow's program, the mentor visits the Fellows in their home countries to further strengthen the collaborative research and training efforts. The Borlaug Fellows Program has grown from 33 Fellows from five countries in 2004, to a total of 357 Fellows from 49 countries in 2008. 

Faculty Exchange Program

The Faculty Exchange Program was established in 1995 to bring qualified agricultural educators from progressive agricultural institutions of higher learning in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine to the United States for 4 to 5 months to increase their knowledge of, and ability to teach, agricultural economics and marketing, agribusiness, and agrarian law in a market-based economy. Since then, the program has expanded to include instructors from Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, and Armenia.  In 2003, an agricultural sciences program was established with research faculty from Bulgaria and Serbia.  In 2006, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Romania joined the science program.  In 2007, a science-based program began in Sub-Saharan Africa in support of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by working with seven countries in the region.

Scientific Cooperation Exchange Program

The Scientific Cooperation Exchange Program (SCEP) was established in 1978 by  USDA under a cooperative agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's  Republic of China to exchange teams of scientists, policy-makers and private sector    representatives, and technical information in agriculture and trade capacity building.  The SCEP promotes U.S. agricultural priorities, encourages long-term cooperation, creates a positive atmosphere for trade, and enhances overall relationships between   the two countries.  Each year, 20 scientific teams are exchanged: 10 from China and   10 from the United States.  Over the years, the SCEP has facilitated the exchange   of more than 1,700 American and Chinese scientists, and has played an important role in facilitating agricultural trade with China.

Visiting Scientists Program

The Visiting Scientist Program links U.S. and foreign researchers in collaborative activities that potentially benefit U.S. laboratories and their research programs at the Agricultural Research Service and other USDA agencies. Foreign researchers come for both short-term and long-term visits, as well as participate in technical workshops, meetings and conferences.  In 2006, the Visiting Scientist Program enabled over 100 scientists from 37 different countries to come to the U.S. and share their knowledge and expertise in our laboratories.

Scientific Cooperation Research Program

Since 1982, over 400 Scientific Cooperation Research Program (SCRP) projects with 95 countries have made practical use of biotechnology and other tools to enhance the technical skills of more than 1,000 scientists. The SCRP focuses on trade capacity building and market access, economic development, and sustainable agriculture to enhance economic growth and environmental protection.  Projects are a result of competitively peer-reviewed proposals and joint funding by FAS and the collaborating U.S. and foreign institutions. Scientific cooperation activities leverage resources and expertise, while developing new approaches and technologies on mutually beneficial topics.  In 2007, nearly 80 projects linked a diverse group of U.S. institutions in international research partnerships in more than 40 countries.

Embassy Science Fellows Program  

The Embassy Science Fellows Program enables overseas posts to acquire scientific advisory capacity on issues important to their missions.  It also provides U.S. scientists with opportunities for valuable international experience, usually involving working with national and international organizations.  Since its inception in 2002, USDA has sponsored more than 40 Embassy Science Fellows, fielded to embassies in more than 25 countries to work in areas of strategic importance to USDA, including trade capacity building, biotechnology, food safety, animal health, and on sanitary/phytosanitary (SPS) issues.