The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program was initiated in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter to bring accomplished mid-career professionals from designated countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Eurasia to the United States for one year of professional enrichment and non-degree graduate study. UC Davis is part of a network consisting of 15 other universities who have been selected to host Humphrey Fellows. Due to UC Davis commitment to public research in agriculture and environmental science, UC Davis Humphrey Fellows concentrate on agricultural development, global environmental issues, and law and economics. 

Each year UC Davis receives around 15 Fellows who are assigned faculty advisors to pursue individualized programs of study and professional development. The Fellows also have the opportunity to take advantage of local resources around Davis and travel throughout the U.S. to visit public and private agencies related to their professional interests. Fellows return to their country of origin with developed perspectives in their field of interest and an enriched perspective of U.S. society and culture. 

Started in 2015, the proposed partnership between the UC Davis Humphrey Fellows Program and D-Lab supports Fellows to explore and develop their projects focused on agricultural, environmental, and energy issues in their own communities. In 2015, Dennis Yiga (UC Davis Humphrey Fellow) worked with IAD student Abraham Salomon in D-Lab to establish Agriworks Uganda, Ltd. Their Mobile Irrigation System (first designed in D-Lab) is currently being scaled up in Uganda under a $150,000 USAID grant. 

In 2016, three Humphrey Fellows Kakhaber Bakhtadze (Georgia), Fenoarifara Randriambololona (Madagascar), and Muhammad Ahmad (Pakistan) developed their projects in collaboration with three D-Lab students who were awarded with $2,000 each in Blum grants to travel and support fellows in country over the summer.