USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish at MSU launches Startup and Scaling Activities

Contact: Alaina Dismukes

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University’s reach extends beyond state and U.S. borders with global impact in education and research.

The university proudly supports the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, managed by MSU’s Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security. Recently, the Fish Innovation Lab announced a $600,000 portfolio of six new one-year activities to increase food security in Asia and Africa.

Called Startup and Scaling Activities, these teams will work in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. Two activities aim to scale up work funded during the Fish Innovation Lab’s first five-year phase, while the other four introduce new research to improve aquaculture and fisheries in partner countries through innovative research and capacity building.

From improving carp biosecurity in Bangladesh to using climate-smart solutions by integrating agriculture and aquaculture in Kenya, each activity aims to increase food security and reduce poverty through nutritious aquatic foods.

“The idea for the Startup and Scaling Activities was to provide research opportunities to a mix of new teams as well as experienced teams from Phase 1,” said Mark Lawrence, lab director and William L. Giles Distinguished Professor in MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “We want to both conduct further research to scale innovations developed previously and kickstart new ideas by adding fresh teams to the Fish Innovation Lab community of practice.”

An activity on scaling fish powder in Zambia builds on previous work under the direction of Kathleen Ragsdale, a research professor at MSU’s Social Science Research Center and a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station scientist. This new research activity will use the team’s connections to recruit community leaders at the local level to promote the adoption of a complementary food product made with dried fish powder to improve nutrition for local households, especially in infants and young children. Additionally, the team will provide nutrition information to the communities as well as household food safety basics.

“Each of these activities brings a unique approach to addressing food security and improving livelihoods using aquatic foods,” said Stephen Reichley, deputy director of the lab and assistant professor in MSU’s CVM. “We are excited to add the Startup and Scaling Activities to build on work benefiting farmers, fishers and consumers in Asia and Africa.”

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

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