The Peanut Innovation Lab’s External Advisory Panel met in Savannah Sept. 17 and 18 to discuss and prioritize dozens of project ideas in the areas of peanut nutrition and the impacts of gender and youth on peanut production, two of the four areas of inquiry for the innovation lab.

The meeting was scheduled to coincide with the 2018 Georgia Peanut Tour later that week. Check out photos of the two events here.

Understanding the role of peanuts in nutrition and health, as well as understanding the roles of gender and youth along the peanut value chain, are two important areas for the five-year program, which is headquartered in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Cross-cutting areas such as gender equality, impacts of climate change, capacity building and human nutrition and health featured prominently in all research.

Researchers from United States and overseas universities, national programs and private NGOs around the world submitted ideas they’d like to explore with a share of the estimated $2.9 million the innovation lab has designated for research into gender and youth and nutrition.

Submitters will be notified soon whether they will be invited to work with the lab on a project. Awards of up to $500,000 likely will run through October 2022. The program will designate projects in the areas of varietal development and value chain improvement this fall.

The innovation lab’s main focus countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda, while Haiti, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are secondary focus countries.