The Global Center for Food Systems Innovation at Michigan State University has selected 10 winners of its most recent innovation challenge grants.
The grants, made possible through GCFSI’s partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, are awarded to enable the development, refinement or scaling up of food system innovations, with the ultimate goal of helping to support food security efforts around the world.
GCFSI received nearly 250 grant proposals from institutions of higher education and non-government organizations around the world. MSU partnered with CRDF Global to aid in the selection of the grantees. The teams will be awarded between approximately $100,000 and $250,000. GCFSI will administer the grants, as well as provide support and guidance to the grantees.
“As GCFSI continues to evolve to help support food security efforts around the globe, it is critical that we identify and guide projects and initiatives like these, which not only help advance our knowledge, but also have practical, scalable applications in the short- and medium-term,” said GCFSI Director Eric Crawford. “We believe this round of grantees has the potential to be our greatest yet.”
Samples of project work include:
1. A project led by researchers at Egerton University, focused in Kenya, will design an inexpensive toolkit for the purpose of farming grasshoppers and locusts for use in poultry feed, as well as for human consumption as a low-cost source of protein to combat malnutrition in children.
2. Researchers from the University of California, Davis will design a mobile app for farmers in Kenya that will be calibrated to determine the precise fertilizer combinations needed for any given area of farm land, helping to reduce costs and increase production.
3. Two MSU-based projects: the Department of Engineering will develop and implement a human/bicycle-powered threshing machine in Zambia for grain legumes that will reduce labor costs and boost production, alleviate malnutrition, and empower farmers (especially women) to boost local economies; and the Department of Horticulture will construct two prototype storage structures in Delhi, India, using high porosity bricks and a solar-powered refrigeration module to aid in preservation and storage of perishable food products.
The MSU Global Center for Food Systems Innovation is one of eight innovation labs funded by the USAID. Its mission is to support food systems innovation for improved food security.