Professor Erica Caple James and Professor Dennis McLaughlin, from the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, were awarded a Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS) Seed Grant for their collaborative research project proposal entitled, "Leverage Points: Opportunities for Increasing Food Production in Developing Countries." This project will support donors, government agencies, NGOs, and aid organizations in their efforts to maximize their impact on food security. It addresses the possibility of increasing food production by closing yield gaps (differences between observed and maximum attainable crop yields). These gaps are particularly large in developing countries with scarce or unreliable water resources, poor soils, low incomes, and inadequate transportation infrastructure. Options for increasing yield in such regions include expansions in irrigated agriculture and fertilizer use, improved pest prevention techniques, use of improved cultivars, and adoption of sustainable cultivation practices that enhance soil quality. To read the full announcement, please click on the link below: