The University of Minnesota has presented its Outstanding Achievement Award to former Moroccan Agriculture Minister Mohammed Sadiki. Sadiki earned his PhD in plant genetics from the ‘U’ in 1990. He was one of 400 Moroccans who earned doctorate or master’s degrees through a USAID project known as the ‘Minnesota Project.’ “The people that were trained here, they had the responsibility to teach and to train in Morocco so the impact is really huge and it has also had an impact on the agricultural policy in Morocco through adoptation of what they learned in the United States.” The ‘Minnesota Project’ was in place for 20 years beginning in the 1970s. Sadiki said the impact continues to be seen today with University of Minnesota graduates having important roles in Moroccan public and private agricultural sector. Listen to the full interview.
