![](media/image1.png){width="0.6361111111111111in"
height="0.44305555555555554in"}

**UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**FACULTY EXCHANGE PROGRAM**

**In Agricultural Economics and Marketing and Agribusiness**

**2007 Program Description**

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Faculty Exchange
Program (FEP), managed by the Foreign Agricultural Service, was created
in 1994 to bring instructors from agricultural institutions of higher
learning to the United States for 5 months to increase their knowledge
of, and ability to teach, agricultural economics and marketing and
agribusiness in a market economy.

The goal of the program is to promote the development of sound
agricultural policy and effective and competitive agricultural marketing
and business systems. The objectives of the Faculty Exchange Program are
to:

1\. Increase the number of adults who understand the market economy by
improving the quantity and quality of academic and adult education
programs in agricultural economics and marketing, agribusiness, and
agrarian law;

2\. Develop the ability and confidence of participating faculty to
evaluate and revise curriculum and courses through the application of
basic principles of learning and curriculum development; and,

3\. Establish enduring U.S.-international institutional relationships
that will catalyze and support curriculum development, course revision,
and faculty strengthening in the areas of agricultural economics and
marketing and agribusiness.

Increasing the number of adults who understand how a market economy
works, increasing the number of people who can teach and create
educational materials on market economics, and increasing the number of
people with the mind-set to adapt to a market economy is critical to the
formulation and implementation of sound policy and the continuing
development of a competitive market system. Long-term faculty
development programs of this type can significantly assist in the
transition to a market economy.

The FEP is accepting applications for the 2007 program. We anticipate
that the program will begin in July 2007 and end in December 2007.
Individual candidate and university administration interviews are
tentatively planned to take place in March-April 2007.

[Requirements:]{.underline}

-   Applicants should be teaching at the university level and have a
    background in agricultural economics and marketing, agribusiness, or
    related areas.

-   Applicants must be proficient in oral and written English. All
    aspects of the program will take place in English; interpreters will
    not be used.

-   Applicants must be in good health and, if accepted, will be required
    to have a physical exam prior to traveling to the U.S.

-   The applicant's university must be willing to continue to pay the
    salary of the participant while they take part in the program and to
    guarantee continued employment upon return of the participant.

-   Upon completion of the U.S. portion of the program, the applicant
    must be willing to return to their university to teach for a minimum
    of 2 years.

The FEP is not a degree-granting program. Rather it builds upon a
participant\'s current academic knowledge, professional training, and
experience so that they will be a more competent instructor of
agricultural economics subjects in a market-based economy. It equips
participants in revising and improving their current courses and in
introducing new subjects to assist in the development of the
agricultural and agribusiness sectors of the country. The FEP is
intended to increase the validity and overall usefulness of a
university's academic and adult education programs.

FEP participants will develop a deep conceptual understanding of how
U.S. agricultural markets, enterprises, and legal systems operate. The
learning experiences for FEP participants will be planned and conducted
in collaboration with U.S. agricultural colleges and conducted in
English. These experiences will be tailored to participants\' individual
subject interests and training needs within the broad objectives of the
program. Class work and classroom observation will be included. Each
participant is expected to develop or revise at least three course
outlines for introduction upon return to their home institution at the
end of the program. Participants will collect the background materials
and information necessary to teach the new or revised courses during
their stay in the US. We also expect each participant to develop and
adapt ideas for change and redesign of curricula, teaching methods and
materials, and adult and extension education. Each participant must be
able to present and explain the curricula and teaching programs of their
university and each participant must bring a copy of the university's
curricula. Review, comparison, and revision of course curricula will be
an important part of the program.

Other activities will include one-on-one meetings with a U.S. professor
and small group discussions on a variety of subjects; exposure to
teaching methodologies and assessment techniques used in the U.S. higher
education system; course and curricula revision and development for
academic and adult education; study of, and visits to, private
agribusiness enterprises and markets to understand and experience
firsthand the principles and practices of management, marketing, and
finance; and short internships or practical experiences with an
agribusiness or other private or government entity involved in the U.S.
agricultural system. Participants will also learn about the use of the
Internet in distance education programs.

The FEP provides follow-up support to participants when they return to
their home institutions. Funds are reserved for visits by U.S.
university professors to participants' universities to assist further in
curricula reform and course development. Former participants have
continued to maintain contact with the U.S. universities where they were
trained and U.S. professors have continued to provide course outlines,
critiques, and other valuable information by post, fax, and Internet. We
are particularly interested in applicants from universities interested
in establishing long-term relationships with U.S. universities.

Applicants must be in good health and are required to have a physical
exam prior to traveling to the U.S. If invited to participate in the
FEP, the USDA will provide a form to be completed by a physician
certifying that the participant is in good health. The USDA will provide
emergency medical insurance only, which will not cover pre-existing or
chronic medical conditions, medication, eyeglasses, or dental work. If
there is a medical emergency, the participant is responsible for paying
a percentage of any bill.

If selected to participate, FEP will pay round trip airfare to the U.S.
from the participant\'s country' capital city, program fees, book
allowance, emergency medical insurance, and a stipend to cover food,
lodging, and incidental expenses for the duration of the program.

Applicants should please complete the application in English. We will
only accept applications for the program that are completed in English.
**(**However, the applicant\'s rector or dean, vice rector or vice dean,
and department head can complete and sign their sections in their native
language, if desired, with an English translation attached.)

The applicant\'s training objectives and their university
administration\'s expectations of them upon return should be discussed
and agreed upon prior to the interviews. Applications should be
submitted to the USDA Agricultural Affairs Office at the addresses below
by 10 March 2007. Interviews with applicants and their university
administrators are tentatively scheduled to take place in March-April.
Final selection of participants will be made by a USDA committee. The
Office of Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in the applicant\'s
country will notify those selected and assist in making arrangements for
visas, airplane tickets, and other logistics.

+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Armenia**                      | **Kazakhstan**                    |
|                                  |                                   |
| Sean Carmody                     | Alexander Simon                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Karine Grigoryan                 | US Embassy                        |
|                                  |                                   |
| USDA CADI                        | > USAID CAR, Park Place           |
|                                  | >                                 |
| Yerevan, Armenia (in the         | > BuidingWing B, 41               |
| university bldg)                 |                                   |
|                                  | Kazbek be Street, Almaty 480100   |
| Tel: (374 1) 58-34-20; (374 1)   |                                   |
| 58                               | Kazakhstan                        |
|                                  |                                   |
| 34-02                            | Office 3272.50.76.16              |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | Fax 3272.50.18.94                 |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | <agalmaty@nursat.kz>              |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | Alexander.simon@fas.usda.gov      |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Serbia**                       | **Ukraine**                       |
|                                  |                                   |
| Darko Lojen                      | Svetlana Yariga                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Foreign Agricultural Service     | Artyoma Business Center           |
|                                  |                                   |
| U.S. Embassy Belgrade/AGRI       | U.S. Embassy                      |
|                                  |                                   |
| Kneza Milosa 50                  | Agricultural Affairs Office       |
|                                  |                                   |
| 11000 Belgrade, Serbia           | 4, Hlyubochitska St.              |
|                                  |                                   |
| Office 11.306.4754               | Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine              |
|                                  |                                   |
| Mobile 63.243.150                | Office 380.44.490.4005            |
|                                  |                                   |
| # Fax 11.306.4922                | Fax 380.44.490.4110               |
|                                  |                                   |
| <darko.lojen@usda.gov>           | agkiev@yahoo.com                  |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Uzbekistan**                   | #                                 |
|                                  | United States: For questions only |
| Nizam Yuldashbaev                |                                   |
|                                  | Edward Gerard 202.690.1983        |
| Foreign Agricultural Service     |                                   |
|                                  | <Edward.Gerard@usda.gov>          |
| U.S. Embassy                     |                                   |
|                                  | Oulie Ketia202.690.0818           |
| 82, Chilanzarskaya Street        |                                   |
|                                  | <Oulie.Ketia@fas.usda.gov>        |
| Tashkent, 700115, Uzbekistan     |                                   |
|                                  | Fax: 202.690.0892                 |
| Office 120.54.50, 120.54.47      |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Fax 120.63.35                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Nizam.yuldashbaev@usda.gov       |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+