$5M USDA grant funds multidisciplinary SDSU project aimed at diversifying food system workforce
SDSU scientists received a $5 million grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) for their project aimed at growing and increasing diversity among researchers who are contributing to sustainable food systems along the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The large multidisciplinary project, “Expanding and Diversifying Careers in Sustainable Food Systems Along the U.S.-Mexico Border,” involves the collaboration of over 32 internal and external partners, including four USDA agencies and three Mexican universities. With Biology’s Lluvia Flores-Renteria at the helm, the project is led by faculty from SDSU’s College of Sciences, College of Arts and Letters, College of Health and Human Services, and Fowler College of Business.
The project intends to serve as a pipeline leading underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students in food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences to positions with the USDA. In particular, the team will engage students from Indigenous, immigrant and Mexican-origin communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. Students will participate in a range of learning, research and training opportunities to prepare them for careers in these disciplines.
For more information on this research, check out this article in the Fall 2023 Issue of SDSU Magazine and this NewsCenter article.
This research was supported by the intramural research program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NEXTG, 1030734.