Day 2
HANGZHOU, China – Lt. Governor Becky Skillman today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of the Chinese province of Zhejiang to continue efforts to further the agriculture sector in both states.
On the second day of the Lt. Governor’s agricultural investment mission to China, she signed the document promising cooperation between the governments in the areas of technology, production, processing, trade, and communication.
“Zhejiang has a history rich in agriculture much like Indiana’s,” Lt. Governor Skillman said. “It will be to our mutual benefit to continue to stay in contact, share our experiences, and purchase each other’s products.”
Indiana and Zhejiang began a sister-state relationship in 1987 under the leadership of Governor Robert Orr. Zhejiang’s provincial capital – Hangzhou – has been the sister city of Indianapolis since 2008.
The delegation also visited Zhejiang University and the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science to see how the Chinese are educating future ag producers. The groups also toured China’s largest pork processor (Hangzhou NF United) and Transfar, a bio-technology company seeking partnerships with U.S. companies. The day’s activities ended with an Indiana-hosted banquet.
This is Lt. Governor Skillman’s fourth international trade mission since assuming office in 2005. Her trips to Central America in 2005, Taiwan and Vietnam in 2006, and Mexico in 2008 have led to business deals for multiple agriculture industries. This mission has been paid for entirely through private donations.
Day 2 Photos
Day 2 Blog Post
June 4, 2010: I’m proud to be surrounded by a delegation full of Indiana’s best and brightest professionals as we focused on education today. One of the delegates is from Purdue University, Dr. Chuck Hibberd. No matter your location on the globe, people know Purdue’s reputation as an outstanding school. Purdue Agriculture just had a group here in China several weeks ago, and we have heard many praises of that delegation already in these few shorts weeks following.
Our first stop was Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ZAAS). After a brief discussion with school officials, we headed off to visit the labs to view some of the research taking place. Before we could enter we had to place plastic covers over our shoes. Some of the delegates, including Bart from my office who is more than six feet tall, couldn’t get their oversized American feet into the shoe covers. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned on these visits.
As we toured these Chinese institutions for higher education, I couldn't help but think about the issue of "brain drain" facing Indiana. One of the people we lunched with today was Ben Hurst, a Hoosier who is studying in a Chinese immersion program here in Hangzhou. Ben also has a connection to Indiana agriculture. His family runs NK Hurst Bean Factory, which sits on the south side of Lucas Oil Stadium. With Ben's resume, he could certainly find a job in China or Indiana, but we hope he returns home.
Solving brain drain doesn't mean that we need to keep every born-and-raised Hoosier inside our borders forever. In fact, that type of isolation would have a net negative impact on our state. What it means is that it should be the job of state government to ensure there are excellent career opportunities in Indiana for graduating Hoosiers. No Indiana college graduate should ever have to say, "Well, I'd like to stay in Indiana, but there's just nothing here for me."
It brings to mind companies like Dow AgroSciences, which is providing high-tech life science career options for Hoosier graduates, or Medco, the new state-of-the-art center that could attract pharmacy students from Purdue and Butler. Competing against other states, Indiana won expansion deals with those companies thanks to our friendly business climate. If we can continue attracting that kind of investment, people like Ben will have a lot more reason to come back home again to Indiana.
Day 2 Video
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