International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program (US)

Goals

• Develop a diverse group of up to nine, per cohort, globally minded U.S. agriculturalists with experience living abroad.
• Collaboratively meet the food and fiber needs of the domestic population of eligible countries.
• Strengthen and enhance trade linkages between eligible countries and the United States agricultural industry.
• In addition to serving as educators at one specific school, IAEFP fellows will facilitate agricultural pedagogical training workshops for local educators, establish networks, develop field days, leadership sessions, and other adjacent activities designed to strengthen skills and showcase the breadth of the agricultural value chain to both educators and learners.

The [Founding] Values

They want the countries, communities, schools, and stakeholders they serve to understand the foundation of the program.

• Service
  • The success of the program is reliant on the personal interactions made in each school, home and community. The goal is to throw away the own idea of what they think development is and focus on serving each community with open ears and servant-heart.
• Education
  • The program’s goal is to educate and be educated. Not only do they want to expose farmers and students to new and improved techniques that could be beneficial to agriculture sectors, they want the fellows to use this experience as an educational opportunity.
• Leadership
  • The program is looking for fellows who know who they are as a person and can create a personalized leadership style that is reflective of that definition.
• Sustainability
  • Development programs often fail due to the lack of sustainability. The goal is to implement changes that do not rely on outsourced funding, American support, or unavailable resources.

Code of Ethics

The IAEFP Code of Ethics

• Research local agricultural needs and take into consideration individual community values, traditions, and cultures.
• Strive to discover solutions to agricultural challenges in local areas by collaborating with local community leaders, students, farmers, teachers, and other appropriate leaders in my community.
• Realize it is important to promote an open atmosphere where individual ideas are respected and considered without judgement or ridicule.
• Ethically handle all monetary donations or monies and provide accountability of all use of funds in the organization either internally or externally.
• Realize that conflicts will arise and will be handled by treating individuals with respect, kindness and courtesy.
• Embrace local cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and people with disabilities and honor each difference with no tolerance for discrimination.

Programs

• Location
  • Guatemala
    • Program Duration
      • Training: June – August 2024
      • Deployment: Fall 2024 – June 2025
  • Ghana
    • Program Duration
      • Training: June – August 2024
      • Deployment: Fall 2024 – June 2025

What to expect as a Fellow?

• Post application, interview, offer, and acceptance to program, fellows will complete a virtual training, a pre-service training in-person at the Borlaug Institute, and a in-service training for the first month of deployment to the country.
• Fellows will use the AgriCorps training curriculum manual which is based on the integration of four components essential to a successful fellowship experience: interior formation, teaching pedagogy, cultural awareness, and agricultural enhancement. The training workshops will equip fellows with the basic tools needed for success, but more importantly, it will connect them to human resources they can call upon throughout the year as needed.
• After moving to assigned communities, fellows will work daily with teachers to integrate SBAE lessons, when appropriate. They will be actively engaging in their communities and will implement agricultural projects. Fellows will meet once a month as a group to check-in and assess their progress with a field director or program coordinator. In addition, fellows will be responsible for submitting monthly monitoring and evaluation surveys.
• Fellows will be given a monthly stipend, live with a host family within their respective communities, and be given a 2-3 week break halfway through the program to travel back to the U.S. at their own expense. All travel will be reported to the program coordinator or field director. Fellows must abide by established IAEFP travel protocols at all times. It is of utmost important to keep the fellows safe and healthy throughout the program.

Requirements

• Guatemala
  • Applicant Requirements
    • Fluent in Spanish
    • Degree in agriculture before deployment
    • United States Citizen
    • Interested in international agriculture
• Ghana
  • Applicant Requirements
    • Degree in agriculture before deployment
    • United States Citizen
    • Interested in international agriculture.

For more information, visit Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development.