USAID Donates Equipment to Universities and Agricultural Research and Training Institutions

Patrick Guibaud, Director of USAID / ERA, hands over bus keys to Colonel Pope Walili Gueye, Senior Technical Advisor to the Environment Minister (November 30, 2011 - USAID/Senegal)

USAID has initiated an extensive program to deliver equipment and grants to agricultural research and training institutions in Senegal.

Investment through the Education and Research in Agriculture (USAID / ERA) project will total more than three million dollars (1.2 billion CFA francs).  This investment will strengthen the institutional capacity of agricultural research and training.  Through the project, twelve institutions will receive six vehicles, 300 computers, six generators, office furniture and educational resources.

The main purpose of the partnership is to help Senegal achieve food security.  Providing these institutions with equipment and educational resources strengthens their capacity, and helps them implement a more efficient system of agricultural research and education.

The Universities of Dakar, Saint-Louis, Thiès, and Ziguinchor are beneficiaries of the program.  For these universities, this USAID program provides valuable support.  Not only does it improve training and education for students in Senegal, it also finances study abroad.  In 2011, 44 students studied agricultural research at the University of Virginia Tech in the United States through this program.