Contact: Alaina Dismukes

STARKVILLE, Miss.—U.S. Agency for International Development Chief Scientist Robert Bertram visited Mississippi State University Thursday [Aug. 22] to mark five years of successful work promoting global health and sustainability by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish—managed by the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security at MSU.

In addition to celebrating five years of successful implementation, leaders of the Fish Innovation Lab are looking ahead to continue alleviating poverty and improving nutrition through aquatic foods with a five-year grant extension, awarded in 2023 and adding up to $15 million to the initial effort, which launched in 2018.

“MSU is a long-standing and proud partner in the struggle to achieve global food security by putting sustainable, quality, nutritious and affordable foods within the reach of all. It is gratifying to celebrate the new phase of the Fish Innovation Lab, which embodies those goals,” said Bertram, a key adviser in the USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security. “The Fish Innovation Lab and its leaders wisely engaged the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 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 funded a $15 million portfolio of 24 activities in Asia and Africa, including seven that were led by 14 MSU faculty members, over the course of the program’s first five-year phase. The university’s global impact continues with the second phase, beginning with six, new one-year 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 of its work on farmers, fishers and families across Africa and Asia who have benefitted from better and more reliable aquatic food systems. In addition to Bertram, esteemed guest speakers joined the event held at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, including MSU President Mark E. Keenum, MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan, MSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine Vice President Keith Coble, and a panel of stakeholders and contributors, including USAID Agricultural Development Officer Tyrell Kahan, MSU faculty and faculty from partnering institutions.

“As a native Mississippian and graduate of Mississippi State, I’m proud of our university’s role in leading this highly successful, collaborative effort to improve livelihoods, food security, and nutrition through fish and aquatic foods,” said Keenum, a former Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and current chairman of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. “We have an outstanding partnership with USAID, and by working together, we are developing innovative solutions to address global hunger and poverty through the Fish Innovation Lab.”

At the beginning of August, Mississippi State co-hosted the Intersection of Agriculture and Competitive Statecraft conference in Washington, D.C.

“At the conference, we discussed how agriculture can be used as an instrument of peace,” Coble said. “Today, we have seen evidence of this in action. This is a reminder that the solutions we create here at Mississippi State University are sparking change and meeting the most basic needs of people across the globe. Our world-renowned researchers are making tangible impacts that provide hope for food security.”

Thursday’s “Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish: Creating Global Solutions for Our Collective Future” event was made possible with additional support of DAFVM and CVM.

To learn more about the Fish Innovation Lab, visit www.fishinnovationlab.msstate.edu. More information on the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security is available at www.gcahfs.msstate.edu.

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