K-State announced Friday it must cease operation of its two Feed the Future Innovation Labs, following sweeping cuts by the federal government that have suspended a number of research projects and required cutting nine positions at the university.
The move comes amid federal budget cuts and stop-work orders issued in late January by the U.S. Agency for International Development and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service for various grant-funded research projects, which included Feed the Future Innovation Labs and other international projects at several land-grant universities across the U.S.
In late February, many stop-work orders became grant terminations, pausing or suspending various research on crop resilience and other projects. At K-State, students, scholars, post-doctoral fellows and some faculty connected to these projects are transitioning to other projects, and nine positions will be eliminated on April 12, K-State officials said in a statement.
