All of Michigan State University’s USAID funding programs have been terminated by the federal government, resulting in more than $20 million in funding loss. This includes nine direct programs, as well as five flow-through programs. The loss in funding has ended programs across campus — including the Feed the Future Global Biotech Potato Partnership, a project launched in 2022 and tasked with boosting potato production across the globe.

The leader of this project has been David Douches, a professor in the MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Douches came to Michigan — a significant potato-producing state — and MSU, specifically, in the late 1980s to lead the Potato Reading and Genetics Program. Throughout his time at MSU, Douches has released over 20 potato varieties, which have greatly impacted U.S. potato growers. Over time, his work and expertise in potato breeding and genetics shifted to an international level, including dedicating 30 years to leading global research on improved potato varieties across Central and South America, Africa, China, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Here, Douches and Jan Fierro, communications director for the Feed the Future Global Biotech Potato Partnership as well as for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Legume Systems Research, discuss the implications of this loss of funding.