The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have awarded a $7.8 million research grant to help eight African nations improve their sustainable farming methods.
Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Ethiopia and Tanzania are set to benefit from the grant which has been awarded to the Michigan State University from the Gates Foundation Global Development Program.
It will be used to help guide policymaking efforts to intensify farming methods that meet agricultural needs while improving environmental quality.
The Foundation, established in 1994, focuses on improving people?s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. It has awarded, since its inception, some $25 billion in grants.
It has been demonstrated that African governments spend more than $2.5 billion a year on agricultural intensification and therefore the Foundation?s help will be paramount in helping them achieve the desired outcomes.
Thomas Jayne, MSU?s project co-director and agriculture, food and resource economies faculty member, said: ?All of the partners have made a long-term commitment to help this region?s programs reach their full potential.MSU has longstanding expertise in this field?and our commitment to institution building was a major reason as to why the Gates Foundation put its trust in MSU for this grant.?
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During the next four years, the team will work with 10 African universities, institutes and government ministries to promote effective government strategies that help African farmers become more productive and food secure.
The team also will build the capacity of national policy institutes to guide and support their own countries? agriculture ministries and eventually accept and manage international grants.
Along with the international partnerships, Jayne will collaborate with fellow MSU researchers from the agricultural, food and resource economics department.
Together, the team will focus on three key crops ? maize, sorghum and rice ? and seek to improve seed development, fertilization and crop rotation to increase yields in a sustainable manner.
The grant builds upon MSU?s longstanding commitment to this region and stands as a tribute to the legacy of the MSU researchers who pioneered efforts such as these, Jayne added.
?In 2008, MSU used a $4 million Gates Foundation grant to analyse the region?s agricultural marketing and trade systems to provide guidance to governments in the region on strategies to raise agricultural productivity and create more efficient, sustainable markets for small farmers.
?By guiding investments and developing policies, we?re hoping to create benefits that go beyond the direct recipients,? Jayne said. ?The ripple effect could provide insights that feed more broadly into improving the policy processes in other countries in the region.?
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