SC State links with the University of the Gambia for student exchange, research and ag extension
The agreement is one of SC State's new mutually beneficial initiatives with the West African nation.
Note: This is the second in a series of articles regarding South Carolina State University’s academic exchange and agricultural extension partnership in the developing West African nation of The Gambia.
BANJUL, Gambia – South Carolina State University and the University of the Gambia (UTG) have entered a historic partnership for mutual research, student and faculty exchange opportunities and agricultural extension services.
“We are delighted to enter a formal strategic partnership with the University of the Gambia to provide sustainable solutions for food security and safety challenges,” said Dr. Lamin Drammeh, associate vice president for SC State Public Service and Agriculture (PSA), who coordinated the agreement for SC State. “Our alliance strengthens our capacities to better address the research, academic and extension education needs of our students, our faculty and the communities we serve.”
The MOU is among a series of ongoing initiatives between SC State and the West African nation, which also include a solar-powered water system aiding 400 women farmers and a project supporting a citrus growing operation.
SC State PSA’s extension work in Gambia is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture via the 1890 Universities Foundation Center of Excellence for Global Food Security and Defense (GFSD) housed at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Drammeh is the grant’s principal investigator.
Conyers said SC State is best positioned among U.S. institutions for the relationship with UTG, given its status as an HBCU (historically Black college or university) with agricultural education, research and extension programs.
“We were founded more than 125 years ago in 1896 specifically with the mission of agriculture for African American students,” Conyers told the UTG representatives at the MOU signing ceremony. “So, we know this business -- we know this business well.
“We look forward to sharing what we have learned over the past 100 years of educating and elevating African American students so that they can empower their families and their communities – sharing that with you,” Conyers said.
Strengthening Gambia's agricultural sector with more grads
Robinson said Gambia’s agricultural sector needs to be stimulated, so UTG has a goal to increase the number of graduates produced by the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
“This country must feed itself, and the only way you feed yourself is to make sure our School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences is well equipped,” Robinson said. “It’s clear that there are huge capacity gaps, but there are opportunities, as well, and this is why we are here signing this MOU to begin to put these ideas into action.”
According to the MOU, the universities will cooperate and collaborate in the following areas of mutual interest:
- Faculty exchanges.
- Student experiential learning.
- Educational administration and leadership.
- Food and agriculture systems.
- Climate change and climate-smart agriculture.
- Artificial intelligence and data science.
- Innovative research.
“The experiential learning opportunities for students open the doors to immersive cultural experiences and prepare students for global leadership opportunities in many sectors, foremost in agriculture,” Drammeh said. “The faculty exchange and joint research components will deepen connections between faculty members thus expanding diversity in ideas and creating opportunities for new knowledge.
“Extension support will help train and develop agents who deliver applied research and innovative solutions to smallholder farmers, families and communities that can easily apply them in business or their everyday lives,” he said.
How will SC State students benefit from the MOU?
Noble said SC State College of Agriculture, Family and Consumer Sciences students who study in Gambia will be more attractive to employers.
“One thing that’s being encouraged for new graduates in the United States is that they get some international experience,” Noble said. “Some of the primary companies located in the U.S. are really international companies.
“When a student has any type of international experience on their resume, it raises up their qualifications in their field. Anytime our students get a chance to travel, they get opportunities they would not see anywhere else,” he said.
The Gambian experience will be especially important for the College of Agriculture as it develops new animal science degree programs. SC State’s next major grant-funded extension effort in Gambia will be a small ruminant project intended to improve nutrition. Ruminants are cattle, sheep, goats and other mammals that chew regurgitated cuds. The project will introduce a new breed of goat in hopes of mitigating stunting in the country’s children.
Ag students will first get experience at SC State PSA’s Research and Demonstration Farm in Olar, South Carolina, before taking their expertise to Gambia. UTG also hopes to develop a demonstration farm with SC State’s guidance.
“We have our university farm in place now, and we are making plans for a segment of that farm to accommodate beef cattle, hair sheep and meat goats,” Noble said. “That’s where we will give our students hands-on experiences. So, they understand how those applications they learn in class will fit in when they go into extension work and international work.”
Increasing Gambian farmers’ access to extension agents
Yaffa, Noble’s equivalent at UTG, looked forward to SC State’s assistance with extension development, as the West African nation has a ratio of one extension agent per 1,000 farmers.
“Extension services are very challenging in our country. South Carolina State has a lot of experience in different aspects of agricultural extension services,” Yaffa said. “They can teach us so we can close the gap between the number of farmers and the number of agents in this country.
“With the help of South Carolina State University, we should be able to achieve that in three to five years,” he said.
Along with Conyers, Noble and Drammeh, SC State’s delegation to Gambia included Dr. Louis Whitesides, vice president of research and PSA; Dr. Edoe Agbodjan, associate extension administrator for PSA; and Dr. Joshua Idassi, SC State PSA's state program leader for sustainable agriculture and natural resources, all of whom will contribute to the agricultural work in Gambia.
After the MOU was signed, Whitesides delivered a presentation to the Gambiansabout how using artificial intelligence and other technology can enhance agriculture.
Yaffa said UTG students who visit South Carolina will gain from SC State’s expertise, particularly in technological applications for agriculture.
“It will expand their knowledge about how a bigger country like the United States of America does agriculture,” he said. “Hopefully when they come back, they will replicate some of those new technologies they learn about while they are there.”