The Cochran Fellowship Program (CFP) is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). It provides U.S.-based agricultural training opportunities for senior and mid-level specialists and administrators from public and private sectors who are concerned with agricultural trade, agribusiness development, management, policy, and marketing.

Over 20 years ago, U.S. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi envisioned providing training and support to help developing nations improve their agricultural systems and strengthen and enhance trade links with the United States.

Success Stories

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, a country may be classified as middle-income, an emerging democracy, or an emerging market. In any case, the country’s principal agricultural exports must not compete significantly with U.S. agricultural commodities and products in international trade.

Training Focus

The program offers short-term training opportunities, most ranging from two to four weeks, depending on the objectives of the program. Participants meet with professionals in their fields, participate in field observations and industry visits, experience on-the-job training, and attend university courses and seminars. However, no training will be approved that directly enhances a country's ability to export goods in competition with the United States.

FAS works closely with CFP and U.S. agricultural trade and market development associations to identify potential areas of training for countries participating in the program. Every effort is made to match U.S. agricultural interests with those of recipient countries.

Program Design

Each program reflects a philosophy that training should provide participants with sound technical knowledge and the opportunity to test and practice new skills in practical situations. Therefore, most programs offer a mixture of technical instruction, practical field observations, and "hands-on" experience. Programs are specially designed in accordance with the training objectives discussed during interviews with candidates and the recommendations of the respective FAS foreign agricultural affairs officer.

Applicant Eligibility

Program participation is open to the staff of agribusinesses, government departments, universities, and other agricultural organizations. In their own countries, applicants may be managers, technicians, scientists, professors, administrators, or policy makers. All participants must be in good health. Applicants are strongly advised to have a thorough physical exam prior to traveling to the United States. Participants who are proficient in the oral and written usage of the English language are preferred.

Selection Procedures

Program Announcement CFP will announce the program for each eligible country at the start of each fiscal year.

Applications Applications are required to be completed in English (preferably typed) and should be submitted to the country’s FAS Agricultural Affairs officer. The officer will conduct an initial screening of applications to determine whether the proposed study program is appropriate and fulfills program requirements. The application must include a detailed description of the training request.

Interviews A final pool of applicants will be selected and interviewed during country visits or by telephone by CFP staff.

Committee Selection Final approval of CFP candidates will be made by a USDA committee on the basis of a candidate's qualifications, FAS officer recommendations, an interview, and country specific training needs.

Award Announcement CFP will notify the FAS officer who of the recipients. The FAS officer will notify individual recipients.

Training Schedule

Training will take place as soon as the appropriate training program can be arranged. The Cochran Fellowship Program officer selects training sites on the basis of (1) seasonal variances and growing seasons, (2) trainer availability, and (3) schedules at training sites.

International Travel

The program does not fund international travel to and from the participating country, except in the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Evaluation

Program participants are expected to submit either an oral or written evaluation to their program officer upon completion of their training.

Follow-Up

After the training program is completed, trainers and program participants correspond with one another to ensure the objectives of the training were met. This type of relationship is strongly encouraged to extend the training benefits to all involved.

For more information, contact:

Cochran Fellowship Program
USDA/FAS/OCBD/Trade and Scientific Exchanges Division
14th and Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-1086 

Telephone: (202) 690-1734
Fax: (202) 690-0349
E-mail: CochranFellowship@fas.usda.gov