News

Image Alternative Text: A woman in Zambia demonstrates how to dry fish. (Photo by Agness Chileya)

USAID-Funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish at MSU Launches Startup and Scaling Activities

Mississippi State University’s reach extends beyond state and U.S. borders with global impact in education and research. The Fish Innovation Lab announced a $600,000 portfolio of six new one-year activities called Startup and Scaling Activities, which will work in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.

Image Alternative Text: U.S. Agency for International Development Chief Scientist Robert Bertram speaks during MSU's “Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish: Creating Global Solutions for Our Collective Future” celebration. (Photo by Grace Cockrell)

MSU Celebrates USAID-Funded Food Security Program and University’s Global Impact

On Thursday [Aug. 22], the U.S. Agency for International Development Chief Scientist Robert Bertram visited Mississippi State University to mark five years of successful work promoting global health and sustainability by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish—managed by the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security at MSU.

Image Alternative Text: fisher casting a net

Introducing the Fish Innovation Lab Startup and Scaling Activities

Check out the Fish Innovation Lab's six, new 1-year activities. These Startup and Scaling Activities will work in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia to increase food security in Asia and Africa through nutritious aquatic foods.

Image Alternative Text: Men in Bangladesh catch carp that were raised from cryopreserved sperm in a net.

Scaling Fish Innovation Lab Approaches Brings Better Broodstocks to Bangladesh

Although the Fish Innovation Lab’s Cryogenic Sperm Banking activity ended in 2023, the research team continued to actively engage in scaling their research efforts in the local context. They are now supporting the government and private hatcheries in developing brood banks, translating their wealth of knowledge from the research activity to further increase aquaculture production in Bangladesh.

Image Alternative Text: Fig. 1 shows the trend of the market price of major carp from January 2005 to December 2021.

How Price and Non-Price Factors Influence the Market Price of Major Carp: Findings From the Dynamic ARDL Approach

The Strategies for an Inclusive Aquaculture Value Chain in Bangladesh activity has a new peer-reviewed journal article in Aquaculture. Read the abstract here and go to the full journal article to learn more about the factors impacting the market price of carp fish in Bangladesh using the dynamic ARDL model.

Image Alternative Text: Fig. 4 shows the average output dimension scores for salmon (n = 4), tilapia (n = 6), carp (n = 9), shrimp (n = 12), mollusk (n = 9), catfish (n = 4), and seaweed (n = 2).

Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability in Aquaculture: The Aquaculture Performance Indicators

In this peer-reviewed journal article featured in Nature, the authors—one of whom is a Fish Innovation Lab Asia Regional Coordinator, Madan Dey—identify high-performing aquaculture typologies and species and highlight opportunities to improve economic, social, and environmental performance.

Image Alternative Text: Photo of Gina Rico Mendez

MSU Faculty Member Dives Into Sustainable Aquatic Food-Based Solutions at United Nations Event

On June 18, 2024, Gina Rico Mendez, the research and learning manager for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, represented Mississippi State University and the Fish Innovation Lab during the 24th United Nations Open-Ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea.

Image Alternative Text: Taken during a research site visit in December 2022, the research team identified food safety issues at wet markets in Bangladesh in order to come up with an intervention strategy to improve food safety and hygiene practices. The photo shows both packaged and unpacked fish in a local fish market to show the need for better food safety measures in local markets. (Photo by Mohammad Aminul Islam.)

Safe Food for a Healthy Future

Ensuring food safety is not just about preventing illness, rather it is about securing a healthier, smarter, and more prosperous future for the nation. Read Mohammad Aminul Islam and Mohammed Badrul Amin's Agrilinks blog post to learn more about food safety for a healthier tomorrow.

Image Alternative Text: the photo shows using a clean bowel and water along with a lime to clean fish

The Shifting Tides of Food Safety and Nutrition: Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption

Food safety and nutrition go hand-in-hand. The Fish Innovation Lab prioritizes these elements in several research activities to achieve both safe and nutritious aquatic food products. Read this Agrilinks blog post written by Lora Iannotti, our Nutrition Advisor, to find out more.

Image Alternative Text: Mark Lawrence is on the left, and Lorin Harvey is on the right in a photo of two side-by-side headshots.

MSU Faculty Appointed to National Boards Advising U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Congress

Two Mississippi State University faculty members are serving on national boards that provide insight and advice to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Congress, one of which is our Director, Mark Lawrence, who was reappointed to serve on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board.