BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 1. The Azerbaijan Agriculture University in Ganja, and Oklahoma State University to establish the dual-degree master program, said K. Aleks Schaefer, Director, Master of International Agriculture Program (MIAP), Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University.
He made the remarks September 30 in a video message during the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) Members and Parters Appreciation Night in Baku.
“Our Master of International Agriculture program is a professionally designed, professionally oriented graduate program built around the idea that modern agriculture, modern food systems are inherently global. In addition to classes around agriculture, our students take classes in economics, business, trade policy, rural and community development, and international development. The fundamental question we're asking is: how do we prepare students not just to gain knowledge in the classroom, but also to solve the real-world problems that our stakeholders are facing today. And that's one of the reasons that this partnership between Oklahoma and Azerbaijan makes so much sense,” he said.
Schaefer pointed out that although those two regions are thousands and thousands of miles apart, the industry participants in Oklahoma are facing some of the same challenges that stakeholders in Azerbaijan are facing.
“How do we increase our agricultural productivity? How do we manage our water resources? How do we manage our other natural resources? How do we connect farmers to new markets? We know that all these are questions that we cannot address in any one country alone. Through this dual-degree program, Azerbaijani students are bringing their knowledge of agriculture in their region, other cultural and historical characteristics, to Oklahoma, where they can benefit from some of the cutting-edge research, cutting-edge extension practices that we're producing here in the U.S. more broadly. Ultimately, what I hope this becomes a program that's just so much more than this one little dual-degree program. I hope there are opportunities for the private sector to connect with our program through internships, applied research projects, seminar opportunities, to help students understand the real challenges facing agriculture in Azerbaijan. I'm really excited to see this partnership moving forward, and I'm looking forward to hosting the first students from Azerbaijan at Oklahoma State University,” he concluded.
