§3319j Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program

Summary

Creates the Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program to give people from eligible developing countries fellowships for scientific training and study in the United States. The program must run three parts: graduate degree training in agriculture, short-term career skills upgrades for agricultural scientists, and an executive leadership course for senior agricultural policy makers (initially focusing on people from sub-Saharan Africa and the independent states of the former Soviet Union). An eligible country is a developing country chosen by the Secretary using a gross national income per person test the Secretary picks. The fellowships must help food security and economic growth by training new agricultural scientists, boosting collaborative research and productivity, and sharing new science and technology with users. They support exchanges, joint research, technology transfer, removing barriers to adoption, and building extension services. Fellows may come from public or private sectors, including farmers. The Secretary will work with U.S. land-grant and similar universities and international and national agricultural research groups to find candidates. The Secretary must manage and evaluate the program, may hire universities to run parts of it, and should keep alumni involved with a priority on capacity-building. Funding is authorized as needed and remains available until spent.