Subgroup: Cacao -- The USDA, Colfuturo and Purdue agreed to provide fellowships for Colombian graduate students working on cacao at Purdue University.
Executive Summary/Description
The USDA, Colfuturo and Purdue agreed to provide fellowships for Colombian graduate students working on cacao at Purdue University. A Colfuturo loan becomes completely forgivable when the student:
- performs research on cacao,
- studies at Purdue University,
- returns to Colombia to work outside of Bogota upon completion of their degree.
The arrangement allows the USDA to support multiple Colombian students for the normal costs of completely supporting a single student.
LGU Team Participants
Purdue University
Tamara J. Benjamin
Asst. Program Leader, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Juan Diego Velasquez
Managing Director, Colombia-Purdue Initiative
Jeff Stuart
Professor and Executive Director, Colombia-Purdue Initiative
Liliana Gomez
Director, Colombian Partnerships and Engagement Office
Colombian Partners
- Colfuturo
Outcomes/deliverables
Completely forgivable student loans for two complete years of study for two to three students beginning Spring semester 2018.
Project Funding
Joint USDA-Colfuturo-Purdue funding. Colfuturo provides $50k over two years. USDA provides funding via the Cacao-for-Peace Project. This funding provides for the expenses of one summer and relieves the student from having to reimburse 25% of Colfuturo loan. Purdue provides additional salary to the students.
