Released Oct. 9, 2007
STILLWATER, Okla. ––Shida Henneberry finds it easier to teach her international agricultural economics class what she means when she lectures on the economic advantages of large workforces when she can hold her class in China. China offers lessons on agricultural economics
“China’s markets are growing as their population gains economic ability,” Henneberry said.
Henneberry focuses on international marketing policy as a professor in the department of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University. Studying how American agricultural products can fit the needs of one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets, is a focus for Henneberry’s research and she imparts that information to her classes.
Right after spring final exams, Henneberry took 10 Oklahoma State University students on a 17-day Study Abroad trip that let students see first-hand the advantage China commands in labor-intensive production. With 1.3 billion people, or 22 percent of the world’s population, China produces much of the textile goods and other labor-intensive products for a global market.
Henneberry finds the immersion in foreign economics during the trip is valuable to agriculture students as well as those in other majors. Understanding import and export needs of both countries is easier when it is so readily illustrated.
She knows students will better understand why American cotton, soybeans and agricultural chemicals are exported to China when they see how small the country’s farmland is in relation to their population. She also hopes the experience will allow student’s to see how U.S. wheat, beef and other American products could fit into China’s future.
“They have a huge population and not much land,” she said. “Products the U.S. imports from China are generally labor intense products such as electronics,” Henneberry said.
So, in fact, the trip was far more than a gastric excursion or sightseeing adventure, though seafood, dumplings and Beijing duck along with tours of important palaces, museums, temples and a monastery were included. Participants who enrolled for either undergraduate or graduate credit also took part in class discussions and small group assignments.
The study trip allowed students to have direct interactions with policy makers and agriculturists of the fastest growing nation in the world and learn about China’s agriculture, economic structure and culture.
A lecture on Sino-U.S. trade and a meeting with an officer of China’s ministry of agriculture started off the group’s stay in Beijing. They also visited with students and faculty from China Agriculture University to gain further perspective.
A trip to the Great Wall, shopping and up-front seats at an acrobatic show were balanced by a tour of Mao’s Mausoleum and the Hall of the People, as well as a meeting with American Embassy officials.
China’s ministry of agriculture hosted this year’s side trip to Lhasa, Tibet, where they saw sights and visited the Tibetan Agricultural Science Academy.
The Panda Breeding Station and the University in Chengdu, China, were also included in the whirlwind class tour. Before leaving Chengdu, students visited the Dujiangyan Dam and Sanxindui Museum.
Three days of visiting Nanjing, hosted by Nanjing Agricultural University brought special opportunities for students who spent 20-45 minutes teaching at a primary school. They also met with university students, visited a crop lab and an agricultural museum before making evening presentations about U.S. economics and culture to their hosts.
Early on a Saturday morning, the group visited a park where they saw local citizens exercising. They were allowed to visit a village in the suburbs of Nanjing where they also toured a tree nursery, a farmer’s home and an iron tower factory. The government arranged tour included a trip to a home for the aged and a Buddhist temple. The day trip took them by the Yangtze River.
Students saw the Zhonghua Gate, the Ming Tomb and Confucius Temple, before leaving for Suzhou and Shanghai. They visited one of the top gardens in China in Suzhou and took a walking tour of shop-lined Guanqian Street. They also visited a silk museum in Suzhou before heading to Shanghai. A trip to the beach of the Huangpu River was followed by another street tour of Nanjing Street and then a boat tour of the river.
The day before returning home, the group briefly visited the Stock Exchange in Shanghai, the Old City Temple and the Shanghai Museum.
OSU’s college of agriculture offers between 8-10 short-term study abroad courses every year. Usually scheduled at the end of spring semester or during winter or spring break, the courses can earn up to three hours credit for students while providing career-enhancing and life-shaping opportunities to experience other cultures. Other destinations have included England, Scotland, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Peru, Japan, Honduras, Mexico and Thailand.
More information is available at the Study Abroad Programs Web site at http://internationalagprograms.dasnr.okstate.edu/atudyabroad.html.
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Contact: Janet Reeder, (405) 744-3651, janet.reeder@okstate.edu
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