FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Fort Valley State University is taking agriculture to new lands. This is the school's rare study abroad program.
Tyler Dorsey is a senior Animal Science major at FVSU, and one of 7 undergrads who received an opportunity of a lifetime.
Dorsey says studying abroad introduced him to new opportunities, and he learned something about agriculture overseas you may not find in the states.
"One of the things that I notice is different products comes with different issues," Dorsey says. "If you touch the rotten part of a cocoa pod and you go touch another one, it will rot that pod, too. If you don't pick that pod off the tree, eventually, it can affect other pods."
Junior and Agricultural Economics major Miniya Miller says her biggest takeaway was seeing how feminism is embraced in West Africa.
"There was a lot of women in charge and in higher positions, so it was really good and really inspirational for me to see," Miller says.
Students traveled to Cote d'lvoire, French for Ivory Coast, the highest market for cocoa pods.
Five days later, they traveled to Ghana to learn more about the cocoa industry and shea butter.
Professor Mohammed Ibrahim says they are helping students build international connections and cultural competence.
"When you are exposed to things that you are not familiar with, you start learning more about them," Ibrahim says. "You never know when you are going to use the information."
The university says they're working on a new international program that will also help students learn new languages.
The school also says they're trying to bring more study abroad programs to students. In 2015, they took students to Honduras, but the university has had a hard time getting the funds for the program since.