The #1 takeaway from FAS training
Mar 09, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, more than 50 individuals participated in AG100, a U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Service Officer (FSO) training, and learned about USA Rice promotional activities overseas.
Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president international, gave a presentation on the vital importance of exports to the U.S. rice industry. She talked about the industry’s overseas marketing presence in more than 20 countries, and gave several examples of trade success stories.
“Close working relationships between cooperators and USDA, such as the Trade Promotion Agreement with Colombia, turned that export market from our 51st largest export market to a top 10 export market,” said Moran. “Another example is the decades-long process of working together with FAS and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on opening the China market to U.S. rice, which was finally successful in late 2018 with the first shipment arriving in 2020.”
The AG100 class teaches new FSOs and other USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) staff about various agricultural commodities, diplomatic/policy tools, and other topics that will assist them as they transition to overseas posts.
“We organize these annual “Meet the Cooperator” series each year to help bring real-life examples of how the cooperators and FAS work together to benefit U.S. exports,” said Lorena Alfaro, executive director of the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council. “It was great to hear from USA Rice about the comprehensive activities conducted overseas.”