Monday, 23 May 2016 16:32

Lincoln strengthens ties in Indonesia

Written by 
Vice-Chancellor Professor Robin Pollard. Vice-Chancellor Professor Robin Pollard.

Lincoln's part in a $156m World Bank-funded project to sustainably manage and help spread technology through Indonesian agriculture was formally recognised last week.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Robin Pollard signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) Executive Secretary Dr M Prama Yufdy on May 6.

IAARD is part of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and is implementing the Sustainable Management of Agricultural Research and Technology Dissemination (SMARTD) project funded by the World Bank.

Lincoln already has several IAARD staff studying at post graduate level after they completed the University's English language programme, and there is a need for more staff to be upskilled. IAARD have been sending staff to North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand for training.

The agreement establishes areas where Lincoln could further increase its involvement in the training as well as looking at other areas of collaboration.

These include; Government scholarship programmes aimed at addressing institutional research needs in Indonesia, establishing pathways for Indonesian students to complete Masters and PhD Programmes in relevant agricultural fields, as well as the development of collaborative research projects in priority areas.

Lincoln's director of international and student engagement, Dee Coleman, says Lincoln's strength in agriculture has been favourable for the Indonesian Government and "we welcome these relationships where we can engage in international knowledge sharing between nations".

"The perception in Indonesia of Lincoln as New Zealand's specialist land based university is cemented, and it lifts our academic profile with other Government departments," she says.

Indonesia is the world's 16th largest economy but projected to be the seventh largest by 2030, according to NZ's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It has a growing consumer class among the population of 251 million.

More like this

Organic Report: Digging into the data

A project tapping into financial information from organic winegrowers will result in hard data to back up anecdotal accounts, says Framingham viticulturist James Bowskill.

Featured

New UHT plant construction starts

Construction is underway at Fonterra’s new UHT cream plant at Edendale, Southland following a groundbreaking ceremony recently.

National

Farm Source turns 10!

Hundreds of Fonterra farmers visited their local Farm Source store on November 29 to help celebrate the rural service trader's…

Climate-friendly cows closer

Dairy farmers are one step closer to breeding cow with lower methane emissions, offering an innovative way to reduce the…

Machinery & Products

A JAC for all trades

While the New Zealand ute market is dominated by three main players, “disruptors” are never too far away.

Pushing the boundaries

Can-Am is pushing the boundaries of performance with its Outlander line-up of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with the launch of the…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Milking fish

OPINION: It could be cod on your cornflakes and sardines in your smoothie if food innovators in Indonesia have their…

Seaweed the hero?

OPINION: A new study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to some existing evidence about…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter