Mar 10, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, more than 30 individuals participated in AG100, a U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Service Officer (FSO) training, to learn about USA Rice and the organization’s promotional activities overseas.
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.
Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president international, discussed U.S. rice statistics and the vital importance of exports to the industry. She talked about the industry’s overseas marketing presence in more than 20 countries and gave several examples of trade success stories.
“Given that rice is a relatively small industry, we rely heavily on FAS personnel overseas to help address the inevitable issues that pop up and impede our exports,” said Moran. “Additionally, rice is a protected commodity in many countries, so our top export markets are the result of hard-fought trade agreements that have reduced or eliminated high duties or tariffs for U.S. rice, and USDA and the FSOs are vital in helping achieve this improved access for U.S. agriculture. It was encouraging to have a vibrant discussion with the new FSO trainees and I’m looking forward to seeing the great work they’ll do out in the field.”
“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 Ralph Gifford, a retired FSO and now a contractor who moderated the training session. “It was great to hear from USA Rice about the comprehensive activities conducted overseas and will help these FSO trainees as they get ready to help U.S. agricultural exports remain competitive.”