FY’18 Annual Report for AID-OAA-A-14-00031

The BIFAD Board met in Washington, D.C. for a two-day public meeting on youth and resilience. The meeting focused on the role of youth in addressing global food security challenges. The event was streamed online and archived on the internet. BIFAD fosters excellence in research by providing an annual award for a senior researcher or team of researchers. The award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of international food and development. In FY18, Dr. James Beaver from the University of Puerto Rico and Dr. Juan Carlos Rosas from the Zamorano University in Honduras received awards for their work on the Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Grain Legumes. The BIFAD also recognized the work of Laouali Amadou from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN) for his research on biological control of the millet head miner. His work resulted in a cost-effective method of controlling the pest, which will benefit farmers in the region. APLU served as the coordinator for BIFAD's activities, including planning conference calls with BIFAD public meeting speakers, USAID staff, and the BIFAD Board. APLU also organized the BIFAD Secretariat meetings, which took place prior to the World Food Prize event in October. The BIFAD Secretariat met 20 times in FY18, discussing the BIFAD-commissioned US Benefits Study and the establishment of agendas for public meetings. APLU arranged these meetings and hosted conference calls. The organization also supported 28 meetings, with 456 in-person attendees and 1034 online attendees. APLU sent 110 communications to the US higher education community, highlighting opportunities for university engagement with BIFAD and USAID. The BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence in the Feed-the-F20 Future Lab is given annually to recognize outstanding research contributions. The award is based on recommendations from a working group, which includes international research experts. The award is presented at the World Food Prize event in October. APLU contracted Dr. Joseph Glauber, a research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, to conduct a study on the benefits of USAID investments in developing countries. The study aimed to outline the pathways for US benefits and capabilities leveraged from these investments.