USDA Grants total $33 Million in HBCU funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday an investment of more than $33 million to support capacity-building efforts at 1890 Land-grant Universities. This investment, administered through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), will support 82 research, Extension, and education projects across the nation’s 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities designated as 1890 Land-grant Universities.

These projects are part of NIFA’s 1890 Capacity Building Grants Program, which is designed to build capacity for teaching, research, and Extension activities. Alabama A&M projects include:

• Research that will address a pressing natural resource issue associated with shortleaf pine's (Pinus echinata) declining natural regeneration across its broad geographic range in the face of climate change
• A project to advance fundamental knowledge in HPP and CP processing for enhancing the nutritional quality and functionality of dry beans. This will lead to sustainable production of bioactive peptides and polyphenol compounds; promote utility in developing novel food products to improve overall wellbeing and human health.
• An International agricultural internship project to provide students with international research, education, and outreach training opportunities in food, agriculture, human, and natural sciences in a non-traditional study abroad destination (sub-Sahara Africa) where less than 5% of our students acquire international agriculture experiences.
• A collaborative program to enhance training of animal bio-health sciences (ABHS) students on animal nutrition and health with specific focus on feed processing, formulation, and utilization. 

“The work these universities will take on as a result of this funding have ripple effects far beyond the walls of their laboratories and classrooms,” said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. “Through this investment, the Biden-Harris administration is helping deliver real-life, applicable solutions to make our food system stronger, while at the same time inspiring a next generation of students and scientists who will help us meet tomorrow’s agricultural challenges.”

The (19) 1890 Universities include:

• Alabama A&M University
• Alcorn State University, Mississippi
• Central State University, Ohio
• Delaware State University
• Florida A&M University
• Fort Valley State University, Georgia
• Kentucky State University
• Langston University, Oklahoma
• Lincoln University, Missouri
• North Carolina A&T State University
• Prairie View A&M University, Texas
• South Carolina State University
• Southern University, Louisiana
• Tennessee State University
• Tuskegee University, Alabama
• University of Arkansas Pine Bluff
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• Virginia State University
• West Virginia State University

More: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/07/24/usda-invests-research-extension-and-education-1890-land-grant