Middle East and Africa
Granot Agrostudies Program
The Granot Agrostudies Program started through a Memorandum of Understanding between CHED and Granot Agrostudies in Israel in 2005. It was initially handled by the International Affairs Service until the same was turned over to the then Office of Student Services (OSS).
The Granot Agrostudies Program falls under MASHAV Department of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. MASHAV is engaged in human capacity building activities in developing countries focusing on poverty alleviation, food security, women empowerment, basic health and education development. The Philippines is a consistent beneficiary of MASHAV whose programs include training in other areas such as information technology, gender development, communication, community development and public health.
The program annually brings in students from different developing countries like the Philippines, Myanmar, Lao, Cambodia, Vietnam and India to train under Israeli experts and learn the latest techniques in farming. Filipino students are now the largest group in the program.
From 2007-2019 there were total of 4,480 student interns who participated in the said program which were deployed by 38 State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) nationwide. In 2019, the thirty (30) participating SUCs deployed 604 student interns in Israel for the international internships through the Granot Agrostudies Program. These students are expected to return to the country from September to November 2020.