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Esteban Valenzuela, minister of agriculture of Chile, left, listens to Claudia Calderón, teaching faculty in the Department of Horticulture, during a lunch meeting with College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty and staff at UW–Madison’s Agricultural Hall in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 18, 2023. Photo by Michael P. King/UW–Madison CALS.

On Thursday, May 18, Esteban Valenzuela, minister of agriculture of Chile, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UW–Madison leaders, a document showing the parties’ good faith intentions to collaborate on educational and scientific efforts, including mutually-beneficial research projects and student and faculty exchanges.

Valenzuela also signed the agreement in his role as council president of the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIA), the private law agency of Chile’s Ministry of Agriculture, which aims to promote and strengthen innovation in the country’s agri-food sector and food chain. FIA’s areas of interest with UW­–Madison include capacity building in agroecology, ag innovation, and innovation transfer to farmers, as well as supporting the role and presence of women in agriculture and rural youth in the countryside.

Valenzuela and the Chilean delegation held various meetings May 18-19 to discuss interests and possible collaborations with various CALS and campus personnel, including a morning meeting involving Center for Dairy Research staff members Rodrigo Ibáñez and Miguel Perez, as well as a lunchtime discussion with Claudia Calderon (horticulture), Joao Dorea (animal and dairy sciences), Erin Silva (plant pathology), and Anita Thompson (biological systems engineering).

CALS Global helped plan the visit.

From left, Center for Dairy Research scientists Rodrigo Ibáñez and Miguel Perez meet with Esteban Valenzuela, minister of agriculture of Chile, Francine Brossard, director of Chile’s Foundation for Agricultural Innovation, and Nicolas Perez Soto, executive of agricultural innovation at Chile’s Foundation for Agricultural Innovation during a visit to the center and UW–Madison in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 18, 2023. Photo by Michael P. King/UW–Madison CALS.
Esteban Valenzuela, minister of agriculture of Chile, center right, chats with College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty and staff and other members of the Chilean agricultural delegation during a lunch meeting at UW–Madison’s Agricultural Hall in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 18, 2023. Photo by Michael P. King/UW–Madison CALS.
Anita Thompson, professor of biological systems engineering, chats with Francine Brossard, director of Chile’s Foundation for Agricultural Innovation, right, and Esteban Valenzuela, minister of agriculture of Chile, left obscured, during a lunch meeting with College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty and staff at UW–Madison’s Agricultural Hall in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 18, 2023. Photo by Michael P. King/UW–Madison CALS.

Additional photos from the visit are posted on Flickr.