CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 05/18/18

Panel reviews first round of project proposals

By Allison Floyd

The Peanut Innovation Lab management team met with External Advisory Panel members in a retreat last week to discuss priorities for the first projects funded by the program.

More than four dozen concept note proposals were submitted last month in two areas of inquiry: value-chain improvements and varietal improvements.

Over two days’ time, EAP members discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals, both individually and as part of an overall program.

The panel is made up of leaders in disciplines such as plant breeding, genetics and pathology; experts in food safety and nutrition; private sector industry partners; and economics and markets. Members of the panel include:

  • Martha Byanyima, the lead expert for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Matters for the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA)
  • Darlene Cowart, the corporate director for Food Safety with Birdsong Peanuts
  • Cynthia Donovan, an associate professor of Agricultural Development at Michigan State University
  • Jeffrey Ehlers, a geneticist and senior program officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Andrew Emmott, a value-chain specialist and consultant who works with nuts in southern Africa
  • Jeff Johnson, a retired executive with Birdsong Peanuts
  • Isaac Joseph Minde, a Michigan State University professor based in Tanzania with the Agricultural Sector Policy and Institutional Reform Strengthening (ASPIRES) Project
  • Shyam Nigam, an expert in plant breeding, seed systems, crop management, farmer-participatory research and development
  • Helga Recke, a gender-in-agriculture researcher and visiting fellow with CALS-AWARE at Cornell University
  • Farid Waliyar, an expert in international agricultural R&D and mycotoxins

With the feedback collected during the EAP retreat, the management entity is sending out requests for full project proposals to the selected concept note authors. Projects will be defined and selected this summer.

Later this year, the Peanut Innovation Lab plans to issue calls for proposals in two more areas of inquiry: nutrition, and gender and youth.

Allison Floyd is the PR coordinator for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut, which is headquartered at UGA.

Authors:
Allison Floyd
Experts/Sources:
Dave Hoisington
Jeff Ehlers (center), a geneticist and senior program officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, discusses project proposals with fellow members of the EAP, including Michigan State University professor Cynthia Donovan (right) and Peanut Innovation Lab Director Dave Hoisington. The Peanut Innovation Lab's External Advisory Panel met for two days at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in May 2018 to review project proposals in the area of value-chain improvements and varietal development. (Photo by Allison Floyd)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
Ron Walcott CAES News
Finding a sense of place 02/29/24 Emily Cabrera
Ron Walcott, University of Georgia vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, was first a doctoral student at the UGA Tifton campus. As a UGA administrator and professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, Walcott helps students and colleagues find their sense of place at the university and has a legacy of increasing diversity in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Illustrated by Katie Walker and Megan McCoy CAES News
CAES associate dean of academic affairs retires after 47 years of student advocacy 01/25/24 Claire Sanders Kinnard
There are more than 20,000 living alumni of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Among them are U.S. representatives, renowned environmental scientists, governors, leaders of national corporations, and a host of successful agricultural producers, among leaders in many other professions. Despite the differences in their college experiences and career trajectories, for many of these alumni, there is one unifying individual in their memories of CAES: Josef Broder.
Top stories of 2023 CAES News
Top UGA research stories of 2023 12/15/23 Isabella Aranda
Reflecting on the year 2023, University of Georgia researchers contributed to groundbreaking advancement in vaccines and health care, to the rejuvenation of American chestnut trees, to surprising revelations about the shy nature of Joro spiders, and much more. Including work from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, here are highlights of 12 of our most noteworthy research stories from this year.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES alumnus returns as associate dean for academic affairs 11/28/23 Claire Sanders Kinnard
For Dean Kopsell, newly appointed associate dean for academic affairs for the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, moving to Athens is like coming home. Currently professor and chair of the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Kopsell, a two-time UGA alumnus and devoted Georgia Bulldog fan, is eager to return to the Classic City and excited about the opportunity to serve his alma mater and the students of CAES.
Undergraduate student Carolina Pinckney holds a Georgia flag in the courtyard of the Bodelian Library in Oxford, U.K. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA) CAES News
UGA ranks top 10 in nation for study abroad participation 11/23/23 Angel Bhardwaj
The 2023 Open Doors report ranked UGA No. 6 overall in student study abroad participation and No. 3 for short-term study abroad program participation among doctoral institutions in the U.S. This report, compiled by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Institute of International Education, details study abroad data for 2021-2022, the first full post-pandemic academic year.
Mamadou Thiam, project manager, Peanut Innovation Lab CAES News
Peanut Lab adds project manager 11/09/23 Allison Floyd
Facing a great opportunity to improve food security, but a new geography and set of partners, the Peanut Innovation Lab Management Team has added a new member. As a project manager, Mamadou Thiam will focus on work in Madagascar, while also supporting other projects funded through the lab.