KSU suspends innovation labs, other international grant programs

MANHATTAN, KANSAS, US — Kansas State University will suspend the operation of its two current Feed the Future Innovation Labs on April 12 due to changes in federal funding.

In late January, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture issued stop-work orders on various grant funded projects, which included Feed the Future Innovation labs and other international projects at several land-grant universities across the United States. Under these and other federal orders, related grant-funded research at these universities was paused, including at KSU.

In late February, many stop-work orders became grant terminations, pausing or suspending various research on crop resilience and other projects. At KSU, students, scholars, post-doctoral fellows and some faculty connected to these projects are transitioning to other projects, and nine positions will be eliminated on April 12.

Since KSU opened its first Feed the Future Innovation Lab in 2013, the labs and their researchers have been key players in building on the university's 160-year tradition of innovative agriculture research and helping feed the world by improving global food systems and resiliency, the university said.

In 2022, KSU researchers analyzed the economic impact of US international agricultural research and development. Every $1 invested in international research from 1978 to 2018 provided $8.52 in economic benefit back to the US.

"This work and these people are assets to the university, state and the agricultural industry," said Ernie Minton, Eldon Gideon dean of the College of Agriculture.

Agricultural research not only supports US crop production and sustainability but also helps improve food security by understanding social, political and environmental factors related to food production, KSU said. 

The affected research programs have benefited Kansas and beyond by: 

• Developing wheat and sorghum crop varieties for changing growing conditions, such as drought, and new consumer bases. 
• Protecting local and global food systems — both plant and animal — from pests and diseases.
• Advancing food safety with improved post-harvest food storage practices. 

University researchers continue to work with the federal government to provide scientific solutions and outcomes that impact not only Kansas but communities around the globe.

"While these specific programs are ceasing or pausing, K-State remains committed to advancing and enhancing global food systems and biosecurity and helping Kansas farmers overcome current and future challenges," Minton said.