College of Engineering

IAER is funded by the Department of State and managed by the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Phase I began in 2007 and Phase II in 2008. Each university in the consortium provides participants with highly specialized training specific to their particular expertise. USU is the lead university providing human capacity building in water and irrigation. In Phase I of the project, USU water and irrigation faculty members provided training to more than 200 personnel from Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Higher Education through third countries such as Jordan and Egypt. In the current Phase II, USU is providing 6-week on-site training on the USU campus that includes class room sessions, field visits, seminars, and online educational activities.

USU Project Director Dr. Jagath J. Kaluarachchi says, “This type of capacity building program is not only useful to the ministries but also important individual professional development and to create a sustainable agricultural sector to avoid food security and poverty concerns. In doing these activities, USU is not only helping the Iraqi government but also engaging in international development activities that are mutually beneficial for our faculty and students.”   

These specialists will return to Iraq with skills, knowledge and educational materials, prepared to teach and train their colleagues regarding water quality, irrigation and hydrology resource issues.  USU has been active in International Development work, especially in water and irrigation, since the 1960’s with initial work conducted in Iran. Since then, USU faculty members have actively participated in various technology transfer and capacity development programs in all parts of the world, especially in the Middle East and South America. Project Director Kaluarachchi says, “USU is very impressed with the dedication and interest of the Iraqi trainees in water and irrigation. Given the limited exposure and outside interactions available to scientists during the past three decades, their knowledge on state of the art is limited and we are trying to bring them back to levels comparable to the rest of the region.”