UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Women from three African nations are in residence at Penn State for six weeks to promote technological progress in the developing world as they lay the foundation for long-term cultural and scientific exchange.

The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program in mid-April brought four female researchers from Africa to the University Park campus to establish one-on-one research collaborations with faculty mentors. The fellows -- Subulola Fosoyiro of Nigeria, Lydia Chabala of Zambia and Elizabeth Kizito and Stellamaris Sendagi of Uganda -- are being introduced to Penn State faculty, enrolling in selected conferences and short courses, taking field trips, making site visits and conducting research.

The program -- funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service -- is named after a Nobel Prize-winning researcher seen by many as the father of the Green Revolution. Deanna Behring, director of international programs for the College of Agricultural Sciences, says it presents Penn State with a perfect opportunity to focus on women in agricultural science.

“We jumped at the opportunity to host women scientists,” Behring says. “Many times in agriculture, the scholars we host are men. This opens up a host of other opportunities for unique mentorships for women and girls in agriculture. This is only the third time USDA has offered this program.”

Audrey Maretzki, professor emeritus of food science, says several interesting gender issues come into play in hosting female African agriculturists.

“Women are the backbone of traditional subsistence agriculture in Africa,” she says. “They’re also the backbone of the community and the family, so a lot of responsibility falls on their shoulders. There’s a need to see gender issues not just as a woman’s responsibility but also as an opportunity to help African men be supportive and understanding. The Borlaug Fellows are very nontraditional, of course, but all will tell you that it’s really important for them to have the support of family and spouses back home. It’s all a part of what it will take to move from Africa’s current levels of food insecurity to a more integrated agriculture as part of a growing economy.”

Behring explains that the success of the program is highly dependent on the participation of faculty mentors. “The focus of the program is developing future research collaborations so that it becomes more than a one-time, six-week program,” she says, “but instead a mentorship program that will help these women and grow their capacity to be partners in a global research enterprise.”

Participating as faculty mentors are Catherine Cutter, associate professor of food science; Stephanie Doores, professor of food science; James Hamlett, associate professor of agricultural engineering; Rick Day, associate professor of soil science and environmental information systems; and Dawn Luthe, professor of plant stress biology.

Fosoyiro, a food scientist at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training in Ibadan, Nigeria, is working with Cutter and Doores to improve processing and storage technologies for traditional foods, starting with extending the shelf life of tofu. Limited access to meat in rural sections of southern Nigeria, she says, makes home-processed tofu an economical, nutritious alternative for lactose-intolerant babies and adults. She hopes to increase tofu’s shelf-life through the use of spices to control pathogens and microbes.

“I hope I’ll be able to get good results that I can transfer to the people to show them how this is to preserve this product,” she says. “We don’t have consistent electricity in much of our country, so having tofu for a week will help them to process larger batches. This research is for the people.”

Fosoyiro says the Borlaug program can help to bring American research prowess to bear on African problems. A small research project such as extending tofu shelf-life can lead to American-African linkages to address larger issues and establish continuity on both sides of the Atlantic, she says.

“I believe this relationship will be a long one – I’ve seen a lot that Nigerian food scientists can share with Americans, and the knowledge gained will go a long way to fulfill the goal Borlaug had in mind: to benefit the nation and society at large.”

“It would be great if they went home feeling that Penn State is a place they’ll want to come back to or send students,” says Behring. “We hope that the Borlaug fellows will continue to have a home at Penn State, and we want them to look at us when they’re contemplating collaborative research in future.

“We hope to develop a pool of Borlaug fellows that will take what they’ve learned to their home institutions and countries and invest in building a network -- bringing women together periodically or bringing them all back to Penn State some day to share their ideas and frustrations, help one another solve problems and build new opportunities.”

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EDITORS: Contact Mary Jo Langston at 814-863-7785 or by e-mail at mjl14@psu.edu.

Gary Abdullah 814-863-2708 gxa2 @psu.edu