By Quinn O’Hara

As the effects of climate change become more and more devastating, farmers and their crops continue to be at the forefront of those disproportionately affected.

In an effort to produce more drought and disease resistant cereal crops, like sorghum, millet, wheat and rice, Kansas State University has partnered with Louisiana State University, Cornell University, and other universities across the country, as well as several international partners to study, design, and implement ways to best encourage a strong harvest year after year. The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded the participating groups $22 million in funding for the project.

The project will focus on the genetic testing and modification of seeds as well as specific genomes to modify natural resistances and promote quicker growing speeds. The initiative hopes to provide another useful tool in humanity’s constant fight against world hunger and poverty.