Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Mississippi State master’s student is being named a Kirchner Food Fellow as part of an international program that connects student leaders who are working toward long-term, global, sustainable food security solutions.

Eduardo S. Garay is among seven new fellows in two 2019-2020 Kirchner cohorts—one based in the U.S./Canada and another based in Mexico, which includes Garay, a native of Honduras.

The graduate student in MSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences earned a bachelor’s degree from Zamorano University-Honduras in agricultural production. He then joined the university as a research associate working with smallholder producers and learning about capital investment needs in underserved regions.

A member of the Gamma Sigma Delta International Honor Society of Agriculture, Garay now works with Mississippi State professor and Triplett Endowed Chair in Agronomy Jac Varco as part of a soil fertility research program focusing on management strategies for improving nutrient utilization.

“Since the moment I decided to make agriculture my long-term career, I realized that I had an opportunity to make a difference within a world in which the population is constantly increasing,” Garay said. “It’s not only a world that requires an increase in agricultural efficiency, processing and adequate delivery, but that also should strive for equal access to food sources, adequate nutrition and healthiness. I feel strongly motivated by the fact that our involvement in agriculture should aim to improve the resilience, efficiency and quality of our food resources.”

The fellowship gives participants an opportunity to engage in investment decisions regarding agriculture-oriented businesses with cutting-edge technologies. It is an initiative of the Kirchner Impact Foundation, which promotes capital efficiency and sustainable enterprises, and advocates that every business should contribute to a positive human future. Kirchner Food Fellows aim to provide both environmentally and economically sustainable solutions to global food security.

Program Director Blair Kirchner said the depth of talented applicants made the rigorous selection process for the six-year-old fellowship extremely competitive.

“We are excited to see the profile and interest in the fellowship continue to grow,” Kirchner said. “We look forward to getting started with the new teams in the coming weeks as they seek to make investments in sustainable companies that will get us a little closer to that day that everyone on the planet has reliable access to healthy food.”

For more on the Kirchner Food Fellowship, visit https://fundthefood.com

For more on MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and its Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, visit www.cals.msstate.edu/ and  www.pss.msstate.edu/.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.