Representatives from Bainbridge State College and the University of Georgia-Tifton officially signed a partnership between the two institutions Thursday, allowing Bainbridge State students the opportunity to more easily pursue career opportunities in the agriculture field.

The partnership will allow Bainbridge State students, who fulfill a prescribed curriculum and who graduate with an associate degree from Bainbridge State, to gain automatic acceptance into the UGA-Tifton campus, where they can then seamlessly pursue a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness.

The partnership was made official Thursday morning at the Bainbridge State Kirbo Center, where Bainbridge State President Dr. Richard Carvajal and J. Scott Angle, dean of the UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, signed three memorandums of understanding between the two institutions.

“This agreement is huge,” Carvajal said. “It ensures that students from our region who want to work in such an important field have the opportunity to complete the training they need.”

In the 11 Georgia counties in Bainbridge State’s service area, agriculture is a major part of the economy. Those 11 counties have a farm gate value of more than $1.2 billion, which is 9.4 percent of the total farm gate value of the entire state.

“We encourage all students to look into this program,” Angle said. “Congratulations to Bainbridge State College for your foresight. We look forward to working with you.”