A project for using mealworms to enrich poultry feeds is among three projects getting awards from the USDA and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture through an initiative aimed at next-generation agriculture breakthroughs.
The projects are sharing $1.15 million funding through USDA’s Innovation Challenge, which is supposed to “spark high-risk, high-reward research through innovations at the intersection of nutrition security, equity and justice, and climate-smart agriculture," the department says.
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California-based From the Land LLC is getting $150,000 to use mealworms to increase the quantity of essential fats in poultry feed.
The two other projects are getting $500,000 each. Columbia University is getting funding for a project with the University of Puerto Rico. Its goal is to help underserved farmers cultivate “climate-resilient and heritage rice” for local markets.
The University of British Columbia is getting the third award to work with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to develop a “novel, nutrient-dense and climate-smart coating” to protect highly perishable produce.
