Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD)

Honoring the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman E. Borlaug, PhD, the goal of BHEARD is to strengthen agricultural research systems in partner countries through the training of scholars and through institutional capacity development. BHEARD, part of the United States government’s Feed the Future initiative, is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

The main goal is to support the long-term training of agricultural researchers at the master’s and doctoral levels, thereby linking scientific and higher education communities in Feed the Future priority countries and the United States. BHEARD scholarships support coursework at U.S. and regional universities and provide funding for research in the student’s home country.

In addition, the program provides a variety of allowances to cover training costs and laboratory fees. BHEARD also aims to develop, test and evaluate new models of small-scale institutional capacity, primarily by targeting key sectors in the countries in which they work.

In fiscal year 2020, BHEARD had several significant accomplishments, including:

  • Graduated 35 scholars at the masters and PhD levels, bringing the total number of graduates to 161 programs to date.
  • Conducted four seed grant competitions in four countries and awarded 21 seed grants for agricultural innovations.
  • Trained over 160,000 farmers in Bangladesh to combat fall armyworm.
  • Supported the African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) with a development grant.
  • Produced 313 peer-reviewed scientific publications programs to date.

For more information, visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/bheard/

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