FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       

July 25, 2005                                                                                 

Contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster

(559) 278-5292 or (559) 593-1815

Program contact: 

Bill Erysian, CSUCID Director of Resource Development

California State University, Fresno

(559) 278-0317  bille@csufresno.edu    

Fresno State joins consortium to focus on international agriculture development projects

California State University, Fresno announced today (July 25) it has joined the newly-formed California State University Consortium for International Development (CSUCID), a group of five California State Universities with active and diverse colleges of agriculture. 

The CSUCID, which includes the campuses of Fresno, Chico, Humboldt, Pomona and San Luis Obispo, represents a core of expertise that is now available as a resource to high-priority federal and non-governmental international agriculture development initiatives currently under way across the globe.

            “As a unique multi-campus program here in California, the CSUCID will draw upon an extensive faculty with international development expertise in agriculture,” according to Bill Erysian, director of resource development for the CSUCID and Fresno State campus representative for the consortium.

“We have already received some very positive feedback from a number of federal international assistance agencies that are encouraged by the formation of the CSUCID.  We believe this will most certainly boost the visibility and highlight the capabilities of the California State University system as a whole.”

Last month, the presidents of all five campuses in the consortium signed a memorandum of understanding that officially launched the CSUCID. 

The new group will work to improve public safety and health in the developing world and foster consumer sensitive and environmentally sound food and agriculture systems worldwide.

The consortium will also improve the economic efficiency, productivity, profitability and sustainability of international agriculture development initiatives and produce results and models that are easily transferable. Organizers also expect the new consortium to foster collaboration between California State University, land-grant universities and industry at the international level.

The CSUCID provides a variety of agricultural and development expertise, including international research, technical assistance, training, extension and student participation, as well as links to private industry agribusiness leaders through the United States. 

The consortium also encourages and facilitates strong collaborative applied research and extension partnerships with other qualified universities and professional organizations, faculty and specialists, such as those from the University of California Cooperative Extension, other land grant universities, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the United States Agency for International Development.

“We recognized that each of our five core campuses in the consortium already had very active international development programs,” said CSUCID Director Dr. Hany Khalil, professor of food science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 

“By combining our resources and experience, the consortium is now able to offer to the developing world a centralized wealth of applied research and technical knowledge in virtually all areas of agriculture, including water management and irrigation, food and dairy processing, enology and viticulture, forestry, environmental sciences, agribusiness marketing, small and medium enterprise development and much more,” Khalil said.

On the Fresno State campus, the implementation of CSUCID-related training programs, seminars and outreach in international development is conducted through the university’s Division of Continuing and Global Education in collaboration with the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.

CSUCID capabilities and the California State University colleges of agriculture

California State University, Fresno College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (CAST) has served the state's agricultural students' overall academic and industry applied research and technology transfer needs for over 40 years from its Central California location in Fresno County, the leading agricultural producing region in the U.S.  CAST provides a comprehensive academic, experiential learning and applied research environment on its campus-based 1,000‑acre commercial-scale Agricultural Farm Laboratory, which also includes one unit each of the state's major animal production enterprises as well as its 4,000‑acre off‑campus San Joaquin Valley Research Range. CAST's applied research and technology transfer activities are conducted through university‑industry partnerships on and off‑campus under the auspices of the California Agricultural Technology Initiative (CATI). CATI has four active applied agricultural research centers: Center for Agricultural Business, Center for Food Science and Nutrition Research, Center for Irrigation Technology, Viticulture and Enology Research Center and the computer‑based electronic information dissemination unit (Advanced Technology Information Network). 

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo College of Agriculture has a distinguished record of applied research activity. Significant numbers of externally funded research and technology transfer projects are conducted through five College centers and institutes Agricultural Safety Institute, Coastal Resource Institute, Dairy Product Technology Center, Irrigation Training and Research Center, and the Urban Forest Ecosystem Institute. A Coastal Viticulture and Wine Marketing Institute is currently being planned to address applied research needs of the regional wine industry. In addition to center and institute‑based research, many individual College faculty pursue research funded by agricultural commodity groups, state and federal agencies, and other sponsors covering a wide range of agricultural topics. Research collaborations are well established between agriculture faculty and those in the Colleges of Science and Math, Architecture and Environmental Design, Engineering, and Liberal Arts. A current example involves faculty from agriculture, biological science and engineering conducting collaborative research into environmental remediation solutions through the Environmental Biotechnology Institute of the College of Science and Math.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona College of Agriculture is engaged in a wide spectrum of applied research activity, much of which is conducted within the following five centers: Center for Antimicrobial Research, Natural Color Resources Center, Equine Research Center, Institute for Irrigation Research and Evaluation, and Reproductive Physiology Center. In addition, a number of other applied research projects are being conducted independently of the above cited centers, such as Neocrin/SPF bioartificial pancreas contract; Chino closed loop Dairy Waste Management project; Poly Coated Urea studies, Phytochemical screening and assessment for biologic activity; wildlife and vertebrate research ‑ development of integrated Management Systems and recommendations for conflict; comparison of conventional, organic, and natural Agricultural Production Systems; Food Safety; HACCP Implementation, etc. Currently, the College of Agriculture in partnership with the beef industry has an ongoing research program directed at finding solutions to the problem of E. coli contamination of beef.

California State University, Chico College of Agriculture has a long history of service in Northern California, a region where agriculture, timber and grazing play a vital role in the state's economy and culture.  CSU, Chico's applied research program, which has been developed with industry and public agencies, has grown in response to the specific regional character of Northern California. Over $1.3 million in grant funds have been secured by other colleges and centers for projects consistent with the mission and goals of the proposed Applied Agricultural Research Initiative. Programmatically, the College of Agriculture has identified four areas of applied research based on current activity and level of outside funding that involves undergraduates and provides services to industry. These areas include: Waste Management; Extensive Lands Management Restoration; Dissemination of Economic, Technical and Management Technology; and Alternative Cropping and Livestock Systems.

California State University, Humboldt is a premier institution that is devoted to the study and preservation of the environment and its natural resources.  The Schatz Energy Research Center is famed worldwide for enabling HSU undergraduate and graduate engineering students to acquire first-hand experience of the most advanced energy technologies. Among a multitude of tasks, the center designs and builds prototype fuel cells, and integrates them into complete power systems.  The mission of Campus Center for Appropriate Technology is to demonstrate appropriate technology in a residential setting, to provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities internationally, to collect and disseminate information about appropriate technology and to examine the ethical and social consequences of technology. CCAT is dedicated to sustainability and seeks to help others live likewise.  The mission of the Forestry and Watershed Management Program at Humboldt State is to meet the specific needs of the forestry profession worldwide, the societal needs for an educated workforce and citizenry, and the continuing educational needs of practicing foresters.

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