USDA Funds Six International Research Projects on Climate-Smart Agriculture

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service Monday announced grants for research and educational partnerships focused on climate-smart agriculture in tropical countries. Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley announced the $300,000 in funding to six U.S. universities. Whitley says, “We’re confident that they can collaborate on climate solutions that contribute to food security and agricultural sustainability, both locally and globally.” The Foreign Agricultural Service is awarding the funds under the Scientific Cooperation Research Program. FAS is awarding approximately $50,000 each to Tennessee State University, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Texas State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska, and Louisiana State University. Whitley noted that this year’s awards support two of USDA’s top priorities under Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh: putting agriculture at the center of solutions to the global climate crisis; and advancing racial justice, equity and opportunity in USDA program administration through the involvement of three prominent minority-serving institutions.