Jennifer Kushner, director of CALS Global, received $45,219 for her project “Food Systems Transformation Summit: Creating a U.S. and Latin American agenda” through the Sustainable Agroecosystems (A1451) program area priority within NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. It was among 26 projects awarded $12.7 million in funding.

Project summary (from CRIS website): Transforming food systems so that they are more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive is a top U.S. priority. Bolstering sustainable systems requires data-driven decision making based on science and engagement by diverse stakeholders- domestic and global- to ensure well-functioning markets that deliver nutritious, affordable, and accessible food.The Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) is leading innovative applied research and transformative approaches to tropical agriculture and the environment. The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) is a national leader in sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, climate research and related fields.The goal of the proposed Food Systems Transformation Summit is to create a CATIE-UW shared research, education, and extension agenda that can be implemented through our networks. The Summit will contribute to BNRE’s priority focused on “advancing the understanding and application of transformative systems approaches to enhance agricultural and food system sustainability.” The grant would fund a 3-day conference for fifteen U.S. scientists to meet with CATIE counterparts. Outputs include a shared conceptual framework, steering committee, a platform for communication and data sharing, and an action plan for collaboration.The project will build on NIFA’s commitment to advancing U.S. agriculture through science developed and applied in the U.S and abroad. NIFA’s Center for International Programs supports global research, extension, and education efforts working with and through the competitive and capacity grants programs. This reflects an understanding that international collaboration facilitates bringing the best science to bear on U.S. agriculture by convening professionals across nations to discover and apply novel solutions and technologies.