Executive Summary

Implementing Reformed Curriculum in Emerging Areas of Agriculture and Food Security in Two State Agricultural Universities of India

Cornell University, in collaboration with two of India’s leading State Agricultural Universities, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad (UASD) and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut (SVPUA&T), and with India’s leading private sector firm in the area of life sciences, Sathguru Management Consultants, Hyderabad, propose a unique public-private partnership to strengthen agricultural education in the less developed Indian states of Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, through Indian and US faculty exchange visits. The project’s faculty exchange will strengthen curriculum at UASD by revamping course curricula for a Master’s Degree program in seed science and technology, developing a course on nanotechnology applications in agriculture, developing and implementing an undergraduate degree in food science and technology, improving gender in agriculture studies, integrating relevant experiential learning, adding certificate and diploma courses, and using information technology tools for teaching agricultural biotechnology. At SVPUA&T the project will establish an e-learning and teaching center to strengthen teaching and course delivery.

The faculty exchange includes participation of junior faculty including women and a strong monitoring and evaluation component with base line studies. The results will be shared in a national workshop, with support from Indian Council for Agricultural Research, to be held at UASD and will benefit the targeted farming communities, which lie in different agro-climatic regions of India, to improve their agricultural production and food sustainability. Sustainability in the long term is ensured as this program will become a part of the regular courses offered at UASD and SVPUA&T.