Remember when Iowa State engaged in a controversial partnership with the AgriSol project in Tanzania? AgriSol Energy — a multinational agribusiness corporation co-founded and managed by Bruce Rastetter, president of the Board of Regents — proposed to apply industrial-style agriculture development to refugee lands primarily inhabited by subsistence farmers.

Those on and off campus demanded answers as to how and why Iowa State came to partner in something many called a “land grab.” We raised important questions related to conflict of interest and ethical implications, those of which lead to Iowa State ending the partnership. Then, we demanded the university adopt a clear set of principles and a process for engaging with for-profit partners on international development projects.

This Sunday, Sept. 1, is the deadline set by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for public comment on draft guidelines for agricultural development engagement in developing countries. Unfortunately, little public attention has been given to this draft. The call for comment was sent out in early July, when many were off-campus and preparing to celebrate the Fourth. The deadline for comment falls on the weekend following the first semester of classes. The timing gives the impression that our administration is not very invested in setting forth a clear, transparent process for engaging in partnerships with private donors and corporations.

The draft guidelines are respectful, yet they neglect the very points we raised in the wake of the AgriSol scandal. Our partners in the developing world and Iowa’s citizens all deserve a process that vets for-profit partners and holds all involved accountable for transparency throughout the project.

In the spring of 2012, a number of  students demanded answers to questions about the nature of the AgriSol partnership. In the fall of 2012, the administration had a public forum to discuss ethics and guidelines in international agriculture development. In the spring of 2013, we again asked for answers. What have we learned? Will it inform future partnerships with private donors and entities?

The proposed draft guidelines speak to partnerships on the ground, only once a project has been conceived and funded. They include nothing to hold accountable a private donor or influential entity, such as a Board of Regents member, to answer questions about the partnerships they engage in under the name of Iowa State.

Whether or not the university’s name and reputation were misused to open otherwise closed doors in Tanzania with Rastetter’s AgriSol development project, the very question of such impropriety compromises the reputation of all our degrees. As ISU President Steven Leath has described it, the AgriSol scandal was a black eye for the university. We can’t afford another. We can do better.

The guidelines must include processes for evaluating conflicts of interest with project funders and sponsoring entities. They must identify rules of engagement when entering into partnerships with for-profit stakeholders in international development work. Further, they should incorporate review by stakeholders to take into account concerns about conflict of interest, imbalance of power and cultural sensitivity before entering into partnerships.

Your public comment on the proposed guidelines by the Sept. 1 deadline is important. More importantly, continue to pay attention and ask questions of those in power and what they are doing in our name. We have a moral obligation as scientists and citizens to do so.

Co-written, edited, and signed by:

Anna Bruen, community and regional planning and sustainable agriculture

Rivka Fidel, agronomy and sustainable agriculture

Eric Ports, community and regional planning and sustainable agriculture

Marissa Moore, master’s in community and regional planning and sustainable agriculture

Gabrielle Roesch, natural resource ecology and management and sustainable agriculture

Marie Louise Ryan, community and regional planning and sustainable agriculture

Maria Van Der Maaten, sociology and sustainable agriculture

Joe Wheelock, entomology and sustainable agriculture