United States Department of Agriculture Programs to forward Polish Agriculture and Science

1. Cochran Fellowship Program

The Cochran Fellowship Program was offered in Poland from 1989-2006.  Under this program the United States funded 659 Polish government, academic, and private sector participants to visit the United States for short-term U.S. agricultural and agribusiness training.  Poland was the largest recipient of Cochran Fellowship Programs in Europe and the third largest overall from 1989-2005.  The U.S. Government spent approximately $6.7 million sponsoring Polish Fellows.  Because of Poland’s accession to the EU, this program, which was designed for developing countries, was phased out with its last participants visiting the United States in 2005.

2. Borlaug Fellowship Program

The cornerstone of the Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program is the faculty and scientist exchange between countries. The program provides short-term scientific training for international agricultural research scientists and policymakers.  Each Fellow is assigned a mentor who will coordinate the Fellow’s training. Training venues include U.S. land grant universities, USDA or other government agencies, private companies, not-for-profit institutions and international agricultural research centers in the United States.  The Borlaug Fellowship Program began in Poland in 2006 and to date there have been five Polish Fellows, three conducting research on agricultural biotechnology and two conducting research on biofuels.  These programs last six to eight weeks in the United States and cost about $30,000 a program.  The 2008 Borlaug theme will be veterinary science and the announcement soliciting applications is available.  An expert panel including Polish scientists, Ministry of Agriculture officials and staff from the United States Department of Agriculture headquarters reviews and selects the Fellows.  More information can be found at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/borlaug/program.htm

3. Special Training Program for Poland

This program was developed on the basis of the Cochran program to send participants on short-term training to the United States.  In 2007, we sponsored four participants including two Ministry of Agriculture officials who attended three weeks of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service training in the United States, and two Polish journalists covering agricultural biotechnology in the United States.  This year from March 29-April 7, 2008 there were over thirty Polish participants in this program in the United States.  Leaders from the National Association of Agricultural Chambers, the Ministry of Agriculture and a Sejm member exchanged ideas and learned about agricultural marketing, biotechnology, rural development and extension services in the United States.  In addition, we supported the visit of four Polish officials to Washington D.C., Chicago, Illinois, and Michigan from June 1-11, 2008 to learn more about our agricultural biotechnology and biofuel industry.  In 2008 we will also support two additional Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary officials who will participate in three weeks of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service training in the United States. Under this program, in the majority of cases, participants pay their airfare and other expenses are borne by the program. 

4. Award for Leadership in Polish Agriculture and Science

This annual award began in 2008 to recognize great Polish scientists, educators, and leaders in Polish agriculture.  The first recipient was Professor Henryk Jasiorowski.  Although not a training program, it does recognize the contribution of Poland’s leaders and scientists to world agriculture.  The program will continue annually.