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OSU extends resources to support Kenya Extension programsOklahoma Agricultural Extension programs are vital to the livelihood of rural America and countries all over the world. Craig Edwards, department of agricultural education, communications and leadership professor at Oklahoma State University, and Tim Kock, agricultural education doctoral student, recently met with faculty at Moi University in Kenya, Africa to assist with their Extension program development. OSU has long-standing ties with Moi University. The university's vice chancellor, Richard Mibey, received a doctorate of education in agricultural education from OSU in the mid-1980s and, during November 2007, he and three members of his administrative team visited OSU and signed a memorandum of understanding supporting the building of relationships for future collaboration. "Moi in collaboration with ACDI/VOCA developed a scope of work to develop an Agricultural Extension Education Programme," Edwards said. "It was through ACDI/VOCA funding that allowed us to travel to Kenya as volunteers to assist with developing the Bachelor of Science programme at Moi University." Agricultural production, which includes many smallholders and subsistence farmers, dominate the economy and livelihoods of most rural communities in Kenya. Edwards said frequently these farmers lack any education beyond a few grades of primary school. Information about new innovations, including sustainable farming practices as well as useful technologies, is either not communicated to them effectively or they are not prepared to understand and then properly use the new information. While at Moi University, Edwards and Kock met with the administration and faculty to discuss the process of development of Extension courses and the curriculum for those courses. They also discussed taking the research-based knowledge from Moi University and implementing it in a manner that people in Kenya's farming communities understand and can take and apply to their farming operation. "The school has academic programs in areas of agricultural production, but lacks programs in the area of agricultural and Extension education," Kock said. "The school hopes to adopt an Extension model that would enable Moi University to reach out to the farmers and rural communities and share technologies developed in a variety of disciplines. This, in turn, would allow small-scale farmers and rural communities access to scientific information that may increase their production of agricultural commodities." Kock said the initial meetings with Mio University administration and faculty was extremely important and beneficial. "Both (faculty and administration) expressed a need for Extension education, yet lacked the comprehensive understanding of the Extension model and its implementation outside the university," he said. "After these initial meetings, a schedule was developed for both the volunteers and university faculty to achieve the final result of curriculum development." Ten courses were designed and will be taught at the undergraduate level toward a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Extension Education. Courses for the degree range from the introduction of Extension to program evaluation. "Students enrolled in this degree program will undergo courses that will help them acquire the ability to communicate with and effectively teach their future clientele and to develop, monitor and evaluate Extension programs supporting that aim," Edwards said. "It is Moi University's intent to begin the new Bachelor of Science programme in fall semester 2009." It is the department's intent to collaborate on the development of a USDA, CSREES, International Science Education grant proposal that, if funded, would support travel and exchange of faculty and graduate students from both institutions in the future. "It is our hope that this represents the beginning of a long and fruitful collaborative relationship between our department and Moi University," Edwards said. ====CUTLINE:==== Reuben Muasya, Moi University School of Agricultural and Biotechnology dean, and Craig Edwards, Oklahoma State University Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership professor, discuss how tea is picked while on a commercial farm visit. 9/29/08 Date: 9/23/08
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