PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (June 22, 2023) – In a groundbreaking collaboration, Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and Texas A&M University (TAMU) have been granted substantial funding to revolutionize agriculture innovation. This remarkable initiative represents a momentous stride in the field, as these esteemed institutions join forces in a united front to tackle the urgent challenges confronting the farming industry. Notably, the University of California at Davis and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are also key participants in this ambitious endeavor.
An Integrated Approach to Minimize Produce Food Safety Risks Associated with Manure Applications for Small-Scale Diversified Growers in Texas
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded $580,229 to PVAMU’s Javad Barouei, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences (CAHS) and a multi-institutional team of researchers, to advance their project that explores “An Integrated Approach to Minimize Produce Food Safety Risks Associated with Manure Applications for Small-Scale Diversified Growers in Texas.”
Small farms often use livestock manure as a sustainable practice to fertilize soil, but if the manure is applied raw or improperly composted, produce can be contaminated with foodborne pathogens originating from the livestock’s intestinal reservoirs. Dr. Barouei and his team’s project aims to address the critical need to identify the factors affecting the survival and persistence of foodborne pathogens in amended soils and the contamination of produce grown in them.
Additionally, “the project will address the information gap regarding the current practices of small-scale produce growers using manure,” explained Dr. Barouei. “Addressing the information gap is critical for developing scientifically based food safety risk-reduction strategies for small-scale and limited resources farmers.”
“This project and its awarded funding from the USDA advance PVAMU’s mission as a land-grant university and as an advocate for underserved and underrepresented populations and limited resources clientele in Texas and beyond,” said PVAMU Vice President of Research & Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA.
“I am very excited about the funding provided by USDA-NIFA and looking forward to working in this multi-institutional project with my collaborators from PVAMU, TAMU AgriLife Research, University of California at Davis, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln,” Dr. Barouei expressed. His talented team of Co-Project Directors include Anil Somenahally, Ph.D. (associate professor, Texas A&M Agrilife Research), Tesfamichael Kebrom, Ph.D. (research scientist, Center for Computational Systems Biology, and Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, PVAMU), Mahta Moussavi, Ph.D (postdoctoral researcher, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, PVAMU), Yoonsung Jung, Ph.D. (research scientist/statistician, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, PVAMU), Dongjin Park, Ph.D. (assistant professor of practice, University of Nebraska-Lincoln), and Linda Harris, Ph.D. (professor of Cooperative Extension, University of California, Davis).
Javad Barouei, Ph.D.
“This project will increase PVAMU research and extension outputs and result in greater recognition of the institution at the national and international levels,” said Dr. Barouei.
The project will also allow graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research, extension, and co-curricular activities. “Student exposure and interaction with collaborating research-intensive institutions in this multi-institutional project will provide a strong foundation for matriculation into professional and advanced degree programs in food safety, plant, and soil sciences,” Dr. Barouei added.
A Nature-Based Solution to Reduce Nitrogenous Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Dr. Barouei is also leading a project in partnership with Shell International Exploration and Production, Inc. (“Shell”), focused on mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in food crop fields using beneficial microbes that are capable of neutralizing nitrous oxide – a major anthropogenic GHG and driver of stratospheric ozone depletion.
“N2O is released via microbial transformations of nitrogen processes as an intermediate in the microbial biochemical pathways, including by some symbionts of beneficial microbes in plant-based high protein food crops,” said Dr. Barouei. “The project is to explore the ways to reduce N2O emissions by selecting the right beneficial microbes. Cultivation of protein crops provides many environmental and economic benefits including much lower GHG emissions compared with animal-based protein production. Our goal is to reduce GHG emissions in the protein crop production even more.”
Shell awarded Dr. Barouei and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Tesfamichael Kebrom a grant totaling $810,964 to advance their project – “A Nature-Based Solution to Reduce Nitrogenous Greenhouse Gas Emissions” – which Dr. Barouei said “has the potential to serve as a model for developing N2O-reducing bacterial inoculants for croplands and pasturelands.”
As with Dr. Barouei’s USDA-funded project, PVAMU students will have the opportunity to participate in impactful research – in this case alongside Shell scientists, in addition to distinguished PVAMU professors.
“This is a great partnership between PVAMU and Shell, providing opportunities for both PVAMU researchers and students to address global issues,” said Dr. Barouei.
By Leigh Badrigian