Kigali Group Photo

Skills Enhancement for Dairy Value Chain Actors to Increase the Quality and Safety of Milk in Rwanda

One of the objectives of the project “Impact of Traditional Practice on the Quality and Safety of Post-Production Handling in the Milk Value-Chain in Rwanda" is to develop an intervention mechanism to reduce postproduction losses in the Rwandan milk value chain. The project is currently being implemented in Rwanda by Alabama A&M University (AAMU) in...

Following the embassy visit, the team transferred to the CRS office for a welcome reception. This included a traditional Lao Baci celebration organized in honor of the team’s visit. Photo by Thipphakesone Saylath

ANRCB Project Team Visit to Laos

In November 2022, representatives from three US-based universities visited Vientiane, Laos in support of the Applied Nutrition Research Capacity Building (ANRCB) project in Lao PDR, funded by USAID via the LASER PULSE program. It was the first team visit since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by Purdue University’s College of Agriculture and College of Health...

Photo: pressbox.rw

Artificial Insemination in Dairy Cattle, a Technology Tool for Genetic Improvement, and Increased Milk Production in the Rwandan Context

In Rwanda, the livestock sector, especially dairy cattle farming, contributes substantially to food and nutrition security, poverty reduction, and farmer income generation. Despite successes in cattle production systems, farmers and technicians encounter several challenges that impede the full expression of cattle’s performance. The main hindrances to full expression are inadequate cattle breeding management (including genetics...

Photo by Raul De Los Santos on Unsplash

LASER PULSE Partners with Minority Serving Institutions in Development Research

Researchers in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) represent a significant resource of scientific talent to partner with USAID in development research. Development research, in turn, provides new opportunities to MSI researchers to increase the impact of their research and secure new valuable research funding. In view of USAID’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy, the Administration’s...

South Sudan

Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance South Sudan MYE Impact Evaluation

Driven by curiosity, Lila Kumar Khatiwada (PI) and Madhav Joshi (Co-PI) of the University of Notre Dame worked closely with development practitioners from ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) and the Gender Equality and Women’s Leadership Program (GEWLP) of South Sudan to carry out an evaluation of USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance’s (BHA) pilot multi-year emergency (MYE) project....

Hall in Western Kenya

Leveraging Blockchain to Transform the African Indigenous Vegetable (AIV) Value Chain in Western Kenya

"Now, I finish my work at 10 am instead of 3pm. … I can use my time to work on other crops, to be [a] better mother and serve the community," explained a local farmer who is a participant in the USAID LASER PULSE project focused on exploring how blockchain technology could improve food security...

Dorcas

LASER PULSE East Africa Award Undertakes Co-design Approach Toward Partnership

In the Exploring Blockchain Technology to Improve Food Security Through African Indigenous Vegetables project in Western Kenya, we have prioritized a co-design process between the research  and research translation partners from the proposal development stage. Egerton University (research), Virginia Tech (research), and AgUnity (research translation) each bring their own, yet complementary, expertise to the project....

Strengthening Nutrition Research in Laos

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A four-year project will seek to alleviate malnutrition in the Lao People's Democratic Republic by helping to strengthen its research capabilities. The project is being supported by USAID's (the United States Agency for International Development) Long-Term Assistance and Services for Research (LASER) Partners for University Led Solutions Engine (PULSE) consortium. The initiative will...