March 18, 2018 – A Haitian delegate composed of two senators and the mayor of LaGonave Island visited Prairie View A&M University and met Dr. Ali Fares, Interim Dean and Director of Land-Grant Programs at the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center on Wednesday, February 21. They were accompanied by a team from the Tri-County Black Chamber of Commerce (TCRBCC) led by Leondria Thompson Chairwoman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the TCRBCC.
After welcoming the visitors on behalf of President Simmons, Fares gave them a brief overview of the university and the land-grant mission especially our academic, research, and extension programs. The Haitian delegate showed interest in partnering with PVAMU especially in the area of agriculture. They indicated that agriculture is the major driving force of that country’s economy and PVAMU’s land-grant program can be a key partner in this regard.
Fares indicated to them that if funding is guaranteed, the CAHS will be able to host students, faculty, and extension personnel and work with them and train them on different aspects of food and water security. They are interested in the goat and swine production as those small animals resonate more with their small producers and small acreages of land.
PVAMU and the team from Haiti agreed to formalize the collaboration through an MOU and explore funding opportunities from local, state, federal and international levels. One of the relatively quicker ways to start the collaboration is through webinars our scientists can deliver to them. Details of this will be discussed after formalizing the collaboration.
Mr. Frank Jackson, Assistant Vice Chancellor for State Relations, the Honorable David Allen, Mayor of the city of Prairie View, CAHS faculty member Alfred Parks and research scientist Gary Newton were also present at the meeting. A link to a video the TCRBCC put together that shows some footage of this meeting can be found at the link provided. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFGQGpNv6NU (timeline 7:53 – 9:32).
Ripendra Awal, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Natural Resources and Environmental Systems Research
(936) 261-5092
riawal@pvamu.edu