US Ambassador Kelly Degnan, Rector of BSU Merab Khalvashi, the Minister of Agriculture of the Autoonomous Republic of Ajara Zaza Shavadze and the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Maia Khajishvili opened an agricultural extension center on the basis of the vocational program management and continuous education center of Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University. The purpose of the establishment of the center is to support the agricultural sectors, to strengthen the role and participation of the university in providing agricultural extension to the society through the development and implementation of researches carried out on the bases of BSU academic staff and research centers into various extension programs.
Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University will be actively involved in the direction of introduction of modern technologies in agriculture, development of climate-adapted approaches and scientific research.
The center will implement formal and informal educational programs, school and student activities, joint initiatives with extension practitioners and scientific projects.
The Agricultural Extension Center was opened with financial support from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The local partner of the project is "Farmer of the Future".
The agricultural extension academic staff of the Faculty of Technology of BSU, trained by American experts, will be involved in the activities of the agricultural extension center. Students will get to know the techniques of working in field conditions with modern technologies, the current achievements in the field and the arrangement of demonstration plots.
The Agricultural Extension Center will continuously coordinate and cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture, international donors and local farmers in providing livelihood. The center will also have constant communication with school students, who will be involved in all clinic events.
The opening of the agricultural extension center was planned during the visit of the BSU delegation to the USA. On February 6-10, meetings were held with heads of various institutions involved in agricultural extension in Texas and Ohio. Among them, the Houston office of the Texas State Extension Center; with Prairie View A&M University administration and academic staff; with the Ohio State Extension Office; Central State University president, management and academic staff; with schools in Texas and Ohio involved in agricultural extension.
After the opening of the Agricultural Extension Center, US Ambassador Kelly Degnan met the students of Batumi N1 and N28 public schools participating in the agricultural extension project and talked about the importance of the center and the importance of choosing a profession.
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