The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of more than $5 million to mitigate antimicrobial resistance across the food chain.
"Pathogen resistance to antimicrobials is a complex problem, encompassing human medicine, poultry and livestock health, and even plant crop production," said Acting NIFA Director Dr. Dionne Toombs. "The projects supported through this investment will work to ensure a safe, nutritious and abundant food supply while conserving antimicrobial effectiveness."
This investment is part of NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative's Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance across the Food Chain grant program, which supports integrated research, education and Extension projects. Research approaches include risk assessment, antibiotic management and stewardship, advancing understanding of emerging resistant pathogens and their mechanisms for resistance, and disease control using antimicrobial alternatives. NIFA's work contributes to the overall federal strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance as described in the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria National Action Plan 2020-2025 available at https://bit.ly/3t5k48H.
Nine projects are being funded, totaling $5,117,165. This research will help strengthen USDA's overall efforts to protect public health through agricultural research that addresses antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
This includes two projects at The Ohio State University:
- Scientists in Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University will study the movement of auctioned male calves through the market to better understand the use of antimicrobial drugs to prevent and treat disease. ($999,938)
- "Deciphering the Environmental Sources and Genetic Basis of Antifungal Resistant Aspergillus Fumigatus" will involve Wooster researchers investigating and sharing knowledge on a broad range of crops -- from fruits and vegetables, to corn and soybeans, to turf and hemp, and industrial products such as wood preservation -- impacted by antifungals. ($942,756)
NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY 2021, NIFA's total investment was $1.96 billion.
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