Vara Prasad, a professor of agronomy at Kansas State University, left, said the U.S. Agency for International Development’s investment of up to $50 million over five years in a KSU-based research center would aim to increase crop yields without taking up more land cultivate. In this image, Prasad visits an agricultural technology park in Cambodia. (Photo courtesy of Kansas State University)
TOPEKA – The U.S. Agency for International Development has committed up to $50 million over the next five years for research led by Kansas State University to increase agricultural productivity while moderating environmental tradeoffs.
The infusion of USAID funding guaranteed continuation of Kansas State’s work on “sustainable intensification,” which calls on researchers to develop methods and technologies to increase crop yields without cultivating more land. A challenge for scientists is to promote production on an international scale while making agriculture more resilient to climate change and extreme weather events in regions of the planet with specific management practices.
The USAID grant promised to continue a ten-year research initiative at K-State, fueled by $75 million in funding that expired earlier this year. That sustainability research at KSU focused on climate adaptation and mitigation, resource use, soil fertility management and other objectives.
“I think this new award shows USAID’s confidence Kansas Stands University, as well as our commitment to our program and what we are capable of,” said Vara Prasad, professor of agronomy and director of the Agricultural Innovation Laboratory.
The new five-year grant could be extended for an additional $50 million and five years based on documented progress and availability of funds from Congress. K–StandsUSAID support to study sustainable intensification over 20 years could reach $175 million, officials say.
The project includes partnerships with Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Senegal and Tanzania. Every country could serve as a testing ground for sustainable agricultural practices. The bottom line is that the world’s farmers must become more efficient, productive, profitable and equitable.
Dina Esposito, USAID Deputy Coordinator of the Feed the Future Program, recently announced the grant at the World Food Prize Program in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The Feed the Future innovation lab network, including these newly funded labs, will advance technology development and leverage the expertise of top U.S. universities and host country research institutions to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges in agriculture and food security she said. .
Prasad said the challenge and potential of the USAID-funded research can be illustrated by considering that Kansas had a thriving agricultural economy despite variables in soil, rainfall and temperature from the western to eastern regions of the state.
“When it comes to resilience in agriculture, Kansas is the place,” said Prasad. “What we learn from other countries will be extremely valuable Kansas and other places around the country and the world.”
Prasad said the past decade of sustainable intensification research at Kansas State has supported approximately 120 organizations, 150 researchers, 275 students and 40,000 farmers.
“We want to have a positive impact, change people’s lives and then make sure it’s done right so they also develop a passion for helping others,” he said.
In addition to the USAID funding to the state of Kansas, the agency said a program led by Washington State University could receive up to $35 million over the next five years to develop and use veterinary vaccines for livestock that could help combating hunger and poverty in the world.
USAID has earmarked funding for coffee research at Cornell University and chicken disease and breeding studies at the University of Florida and the University of California at Davis.
