Southern Agbiotechnology Consortium For Underserved Communities

Project Summary

The Southern Agbiotechnology Consortium for Underserved Communities (SACUC) is a jointly planned effort of eleven 1890 institutions to promote agbiotech outreach to farmers and consumers and strengthen K-Life science education. The Consortium will reduce growing disparities in dissemination of science-based information and aid in rural sustainability. Through meticulous planning, 55 counties and schools in ten states have been identified as the primary outreach areas, based on income levels and rural isolation.

The goal of SACUC will be met by four objectives:

	Educational Outreach will focus on primarily K-12 activities, paramount among which is teacher/student training using the Biotechnology Kit Loan Program;
	Commodity Outreach outlines efforts that include crop identification, critical analysis, demonstration plot establishment and, later, on-farm demonstrations of agbiotech crops and agbiotech pest management approaches;
	Community Outreach will be achieved by organization of field days coupled with small farmer and professional worker training;
	Socioeconomic studies will assess the educational effectiveness as well as public perception, acceptance, and adoption of biotechnology by underserved consumers, producers, and agribusiness groups.

Evaluation of results is integral to each task and a tested management plan is adopted to insure success and continuation of activities. The expected benefits include utilization of promising (bio)technology in rural development, small farm sustainability, and enhancement of formal and public science education. The multidisciplinary, inter-institutional effort bridges the divide among our teaching, research, and extension programs.

Participating Institutions

	Alabama A&M University Normal, Alabama
	Alcorn State University Lorman, Mississippi
	Florida A&M University Tallahassee, Florida
	Fort Valley State University Fort Valley, Georgia
	Langston, University Langston, Oklahoma
	North Carolina A&T and State University Greensboro, North Carolina
	Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, Texas
	Southern University Baton Rouge, Louisiana
	Tennessee State University Nashville, Tennessee
	Tuskegee University Tuskegee, Alabama
	University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, Arkansas

SACUC Website

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