Kansas State University College of Agriculture
Why Kansas State?
The Kansas State University College of Agriculture is engaged globally and has historically collaborated on a range of international agriculture and food systems programs. Its global leadership includes hosting three innovation labs, and it serves as the management entity for the USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) with collaborative research programs in West and East Africa, Haiti and Madagascar. Additionally, it has a strong presence in international grain science support and research with the Grain Science and Industry’s IGP Institute.
"We are proud to leverage K-State’s deep faculty expertise and impact through research and extension to develop and test climate-smart agricultural practices that help farmers down the road in Kansas and around the world."
Our Global Network
Through SMIL's work with sorghum and millet, considered climate-smart grains, K-State has created a global network of organizations that develop competencies across the value chains. Partners include but are not limited to National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), Farmer Research Networks (FRN), SME-food companies, seed system actors (private/public/community based), other Innovation lab networks, local and int’l NGO, private sector companies, and partners such as USAID and USDA.
K-State’s global leadership also includes serving as the lead sponsor at the Global Sorghum Conference in June 2023 in Montpellier, France.
Connected To Our Mission
The mission of the College of Agriculture is to advance agriculture and support industry; protect natural resources; increase economic activity; and improve the lives and livelihoods of all Kansans through education, research and outreach. Inspired by this mission, the Global Collaboration on Sorghum and Millet (GCSM) extends the College’s mission beyond Kansas with its initial focus on African communities. This collaboration offers benefits to sorghum and pearl millet producers around the globe.
K-State has broad research, extension and teaching capacity across the sorghum value chain, particularly as the home for the Center for Sorghum Improvement. The state of Kansas is a recognized leader in sorghum science, production, seed systems, irrigation science, food product development, value chain assessment, and more.
"We understand the importance of sustainability in sorghum production, and we intend to continue leading the charge to develop new varieties and approaches to ensure our research applies to sorghum and millet producers globally. "
Partnering Across the Value Chain
The university continues to engage with the National Sorghum Producers (NSP) and National Sorghum Checkoff. K-State scientists, students, private industry and organizations in Kansas are involved in the Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America (SICNA).
In addition to its work in the sorghum value chain, K-State has hosted a long-standing pearl millet breeding program at the K-State Hays Research Center in the Midwest, a region of the United States known for harsh growing environments.