Global Bites: Conner and Taylor Participate in Ag Exchange in Cambodia

"Global Bites" is a new series from the Institute of Natural Resources sharing bite-sized chunks of our international engagement. Longer than a tweet, but quick enough to eat up in a small break in your day. Enjoy these exciting updates about the global research cooperation, extension work, and learning activities happening throughout the Institute. 

Agriculture, and particularly agricultural education is most certainly global, and Nebraska faculty and graduate students are in the thick of the action. Nathan Conner, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, and Raquel Taylor, a doctoral student in the department, were invited to participate in USDA’s Farmer-to-Farmer program in Cambodia.

As part of the experience, they developed a tomato grafting competition for high school agriculture and science students in the Southeast Asian nation's province of Siem Reap. The students grew tomato plants that were grafted onto the stock of an eggplant to help their community improve food security by increasing the amount of tomato crops per year. Conner and Taylor also developed science curriculum based off the tomato grafting contest. While in Cambodia, the two facilitated workshops focused on putting techniques from tomato-grafting contests into practice, how to implement the science curriculum, and how to implement experiential learning.

 For more information about Conner’s work in the country or insights on the Farmer-to-Farmer program, contact him here.