Greetings from warm and muggy New Dehli, India! We began our day with a short bus ride to the United States Embassy in New Dehli. As we approached the Embassy compound it became clear we were in a very unique area called “Embassy Road”. With its beautifully manicured boulevard of palm trees and tropical flowers on either side of the street. Due to security, we were unable to photograph at the Embassy. it was clear from the tight security that we we are in a troubled part of the world.
Once we got past security, we were treated to a very professionally-run morning seminar hosted by Allan Mustard. Allan is the Minister-counsellor for Agricultural Affairs at the Embassy in New Delhi. Mr. Mustard gave us a fantastic explanation of an Embassy and how it functions. The concept of ambassadors goes back to ancient Egypt when they received ambassadors from Canaan. The idea of foreign representation was formalized in Europe by the mid 1800’s and the present day system was further formalized by the United Nations in 1961.
We were able to listen to 10 leaders from our Embassy in New Dehli including the following: Josh Glazeroff, Consular General, Paul Neurraine, Political Officer, Mathew Jones, Economic Sector, Greg O’Connor, Commercial Sector; Lt. Col. Mike Pettigrew, DOD, Lee McManus, Dept. of State; Gary Robbins, USAID; Mike Mullins, Minister of Administration, and Dan Clegg, Special Agent in Charge, FBI. Each individual gave a good summation of their role and function at the embassy. Dan Clegg had us all mesmerized as he relayed the FBI’s involvement in the Mumbai bombings in November, 2008. It was fascinating to learn about all of the unique functions of an embassy and how they serve the interests of the United States. We also learned that the Indian citizens appear to take their suffrage rights seriously as they average a whopping 60% voter turnout (compare that to 20% in the US!).
In the afternoon we bussed over to the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI). We had a wonderful Indian lunch which included snake on the menu. The event started with a small earthquake just to add to the experience!
We listened to three Ph.D. Ag experts from India, and working in India. We learned how they are leveraging technology to make the pricing of commodities more transparent to the farmers. There are no Futures Markets in India, nor a CME group. Moreover, farmers are not allowed to sell their grain direct to companies. As such, we have learned of the “creative” ways that farmers and business’ are circumventing these political controls to gain efficiencies in the marketplace. We also learned that there are over 700,000 Extension employees in India; however, most of the people we spoke with said the Extension system was either not working or inadequate. The evening found us at the home of Allan And Ann Mustard for a traditional south Indian dinner and reception. 
They invited many 
retired University of Illinois agriculture PhDs who loved to tell stories of their days on campus. Several of the embassy staff that had spoken to us earlier in the day we’re there to continue the exchange of ideas.
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