I am in Vietnam this week talking with 3 different universities about establishing a study abroad course around the topic of global food security and climate change. The intent of the course is to engage undergraduate students and Extension professionals in conversations around the topic in a broad sense that spans the breadth of Extension program areas. The conversation would take place pre-and post-trip to Vietnam.
I sat with faculty from Nong Lam University near Ho Chi Minh and our discussion shifted to some of the current challenges in the region. As they talked about the severe drought in the highlands region where coffee is a major commodity and the impact that the drought has downstream with increased salinity in the Mekong Delta region, I recalled a very similar conversation with Bob Hutmacher and the West Side REC superintendent, Merf. Students who enroll in the course will work on projects to develop creative solutions to the challenges they observe. Those same projects may provide options to our own challenges in California. Engagement with Extension professionals will be useful to students as a reality check for their ideas.
If you haven't been to Vietnam, it's a fascinating country. With 93 million people, rising sea level, and national goals of decreased reliance on food imports Vietnam makes for a great case study for the course. I've had the opportunity to visit multiple times and never tire of it. This evening we left Ho Chi Minh and arrived in Hanoi. Tomorrow we visit with friends at Hanoi Agricultural University (now Vietnam National University of Agriculture); our hosts for the course when I co-instructed it through Michigan State University. It will be interesting to see where the conversation goes tomorrow given that we are now in the Red River Delta region and perspectives may be different.