Mississippi State selected to implement, manage major USAID project

According to Dr. S.F. Pasley, CASP program director and International Programs' associate director for international agriculture, it is the largest single grant or contract awarded to the office since its inception. The grant was implemented Sept. 30.

The four centers are the International Soybean Program at the University of Illinois, the Food and Feed Grain Institute at Kansas State University, the Postharvest Institute for Perishables at the University of Idaho, and the Seed Technology Laboratory at Mississippi State. Their efforts are enhanced by a collaborative program in general agribusiness.

"CASP was established to reduce postharvest losses, which often exceed 40 percent in many countries, and to add value to agricultural production," Pasley said.

CASP offers a complete range of services, including access to agribusiness experts at U.S. universities and in the private sector, applied research, training for both the public and private sectors, and technical information transfer of existing and expanded information data bases.

The postharvest agribusiness development centers, which are modeled after the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service's Food and Fiber Center, are unique features of CASP. Four PADCs are to be developed in cooperation with local scientists and institutions. They will be staffed and supported to provide educational and developmental services to local and regional agribusiness industries.

According to Pasley, development of the agricultural sector of a country's economy makes that country a better market for U.S. and Mississippi services and products.

In addition to the Seed Technology Lab and CASP Management Entity Office, other university units expected to contribute to CASP's objectives are the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, the College of Business and Industry, MAFES, MCES and its Food and Fiber Center, and the Agribusiness Institute.