Introduction to the Crisis
CHAMPAIGN — Peter Goldsmith received notice in late January that the Soybean Innovation Lab he directs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign would soon lose all of its federal funding. Goldsmith had to tell his 30 employees they would be out of work shortly and tell research partners across Africa that its operations would come to a halt. The lab didn’t even have money to water its soybean fields in Africa.
The Human Impact
One employee, Julia Paniago, was in Malawi when she got the news. “We came back the next day,” she said of her team. “And it was a lot of uncertainty. And a lot of people cried.” The University of Illinois’ Soybean Innovation Lab was part of a network of 17 labs at universities across the country working on research related to food production and reducing global hunger, all funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development — until the Trump administration shut down USAID.
The Research and Its Importance
Soybeans — which provide oil and high-protein food aren’t commonly grown in Malawi. But the U. of I. researchers have been working to help farmers increase soybean production there to ameliorate malnutrition and generate enough interest in the crop there to create a new export market for American farmers. The lab’s researchers work in soybean breeding, economics and mechanical research as well as education. They have been hoping to show that soybean production in Africa is worth further investment so private interests eventually move in. “The people who work at SIL, they like being right at the frontier of change,” Goldsmith said. “It’s high-risk work — that’s what the universities do. That’s what scientific research is about.”
Soybean plants at the University of Illinois’ Soybean Innovation Lab.
Miles Macclure / The Hechinger Report
The Broader Impact on the University
The flagship state campus is known for research, especially agricultural research. Labs and researchers across the university have lost funding in cuts made by the Trump administration. More than $25 million from agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities was cut, according to Melissa Edwards, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation. That’s from 59 grants amounting to 3.6% of the university’s federal grant portfolio.
Personal Stories of Impact
Annette Donnelly, who just received her doctorate in education, is among those affected. Her research focuses on educating malnourished children in Africa and developing courses to help Africans learn how to process soybeans into oil. In April, the Soybean Innovation Lab was handed a lifeline — an anonymous $1 million gift that will keep the lab running through next April. The donation wasn’t enough, though, for Goldsmith to rehire all of his employees. His lab’s yearly operating budget before the USAID cuts was $3.3 million and would have kept things running through 2027.
The Future of the Lab
But, he said, the money will allow it to continue its research in the Lower Shire Valley in Malawi, a project he hopes will attract future donors to fund the lab’s work. The April donation saved Donnelly’s job. But her priorities shifted. “We’re doing research,” she said. “But we’re also doing a lot of proposal-writing. It has taken on a much greater priority.” Donnelly hopes to attract more funding so she can resume the research she had started in western Kenya, demonstrating that introducing soy into children’s diets increased their protein intake by up to 65%.
The Global Consequences
She said the impact that funding cuts will have on researchers at the soybean lab pales in comparison to the impact on its partners in Africa, where the cuts mean processors will likely slow production, limiting their ability to deliver soy products. The Soybean Innovation Lab was funded through the Feed the Future initiative, a program to help partner countries develop better agricultural practices that began under the Obama administration in 2010. All 17 Feed the Future innovation labs funded through USAID lost funding except for the one at Kansas State University, which studies heat-tolerant wheat.
The building where the now cut-back Soybean Innovation Lab is housed.
Miles Macclure / The Hechinger Report
Conclusion
The University of Illinois’ Soybean Innovation Lab faces an uncertain future after losing its federal funding. Despite a lifeline donation, the lab’s ability to continue its critical research and support its employees is severely impaired. The impact of these funding cuts extends beyond the lab, affecting global food production, commercial opportunities for American farmers, and the next generation of scientists. It is crucial for the lab to secure future funding to continue its vital work in improving soybean production in Africa and addressing malnutrition.
FAQs
- Q: What happened to the University of Illinois’ Soybean Innovation Lab?
A: The lab lost its federal funding due to cuts made by the Trump administration. - Q: How many employees were affected by the funding
