The U.S. Agency for International Development will hold a session at next week’s meeting of the American Peanut Research and Education Society meeting in Clearwater, Fla., on peanut in the international arena.
“The Role and Future of USAID in Peanuts,” will be held Monday, July 11 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Water’s Edge Ballroom. Led by Dr. Vern Long, the session will cover the current and future role of peanuts. USAID invites the U.S. peanut stakeholder community – researchers and industry alike – to weigh in on priorities for a new peanut research program. The USAID-funded Peanut & Mycotoxin Innovation Lab, formerly the Peanut CRSP, will come to an end in 2017 and USAID is designing a new peanut research program that aims to deliver a dual benefit – a win-win for U.S. and developing country peanut stakeholders.
USAID funds U.S. university-based research programs as part of a larger agricultural development program, Feed the Future. The goals of Feed the Future are to reduce hunger and poverty, with a focus on 19 target countries.
As peanuts are an important crop in many Feed the Future countries, this research program will be designed to contribute to the development of knowledge, technologies and human capacity to advance agricultural development as a pathway out of poverty for smallholder peanut producers.
Dr. Long will present a brief summary of findings of a recent global web-based consultation on global peanut research priorities and invites the community’s thoughts, ideas, and feedback on these findings. Further, USAID welcomes new ideas and thoughts on opportunities that could deliver benefits to U.S. and developing country stakeholders along the peanut value chain.