Contact: Alaina Dismukes
STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Robert Bertram, chief scientist for the U.S. Agency for International Development, visited Mississippi State University on Thursday (Aug. 22) to recognize five years of successful work by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish – led by MSU’s Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security – to advance global health and sustainability.
In addition to celebrating five years of successful implementation, Fish Innovation Lab leaders are looking to the future to continue alleviating poverty and improving nutrition through aquatic foods by receiving a five-year grant extension in 2023 that will add up to $15 million to the original project that began in 2018.
“MSU has been a long-standing and proud partner in the fight for global food security by making sustainable, high-quality, nutritious and affordable food accessible to all. It is gratifying to celebrate the new phase of the Fish Innovation Lab that embodies these goals,” said Bertram, who leads USAID’s Office of Resilience and Food Security. “The Fish Innovation Lab and its leaders wisely engaged the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and WorldFish early on, which has multiplied the lab’s influence and impact.”
Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Fish Innovation Lab has funded a portfolio of 24 activities in Asia and Africa valued at $15 million over the course of the program’s first five-year phase, including seven led by 14 MSU faculty members. The university’s global impact continues with the second phase, which begins with six new year-long activities launched this year to improve food security and livelihoods through aquaculture and fisheries in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.
On Thursday (Aug. 22), the lab celebrated the impact its work has had on farmers, fishers and families in Africa and Asia who have benefited from better and more reliable aquatic food systems. In addition to Bertram, the event at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine featured distinguished guest speakers including MSU President Mark E. Keenum, MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan, MSU Vice President of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Keith Coble, and a panel of stakeholders and contributors including USAID Agricultural Development Officer Tyrell Kahan, MSU faculty and faculty from partner institutions.
“As a native Mississippian and graduate of Mississippi State University, I am proud of our university’s role in leading this highly successful, collaborative effort to improve livelihoods, food security and nutrition through fish and seafood,” said Keenum, former Under Secretary of Agriculture and current Chairman of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. “We have an excellent partnership with USAID and are developing innovative solutions to combat global hunger and poverty through collaboration in the Fish Innovation Lab.”
In early August, the State of Mississippi co-hosted the Intersection of Agriculture and Competitive Statecraft conference in Washington, DC.
“At the conference, we discussed how agriculture can be used as a tool for peace,” said Coble. “Today, we saw evidence of this in action. This is a reminder that the solutions we develop here at Mississippi State University are sparking change and meeting the most basic needs of people around the world. Our world-renowned researchers are making concrete impacts that provide hope for food security.”
Thursday’s event, “Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish: Creating Global Solutions for Our Collective Future,” was made possible with additional support from DAFVM and CVM.
For more information about the Fish Innovation Lab, visit www.fishinnovationlab.msstate.edu. For more information about the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security, visit www.gcahfs.msstate.edu.
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